Organization XXVIII
by Azari v. 2.0
Summary: Organization XIII doubles its ranks, introducing fourteen new Nobodies into the group. These neophytes are a volatile group, one day the best of friends and the next bitter enemies. Each neophyte gifted with their own unique talents, the Organization will quickly find that some neophytes are a blessing, while others are a curse. *Follows canon timeline eventually*
1. You Want Us to Do What?

**Hey! Okay, before I get back into this, I want something to be made clear: I gave my old account to a friend so she could manage a forum without issue. Since she still needs it for her forums, I'm moving my old stories to this new account. This is all basically a copy and paste of the old stories on the new account, so nothing for this story until chapter 15 has changed (except for the fact that all the author's notes are gone).**

**Speaking of author's notes, if you want to read any of the old notes, you'll have to read them quickly because as soon as I finish moving this story over, the old account will be deleting them.**

**Old account/moving from account: Darkness on the Horizon Leader**

**And hey, if any of you who originally contributed to this story (submitting OCs and whatnot) please, send me a PM! I'd love to hear from you guys!**

* * *

"Lord Xemnas..?" Saix questioned his Superior. They were in the leader's office, and Xemnas had just said the oddest thing Saix could ever remember him saying.

"We need new members. A lot of them." Xemnas repeated.

"Um...My lord, we have fourteen members already. Are you certain that is not enough?" Saix asked. He was dreading the inevitable response.

"Yes, I am certain. There are far too many worlds out there, with far too many Heartless, and what with Demyx and Axel's pranks, Luxord's weekly 'game nights', Marluxia's obsession with his garden, we are short-handed and in dire need of extra help." Xemnas continued.

"But, my lord, the effort to find and bring together two recruits..."

"I said nothing about two, Saix." the Superior Nobody said.

Saix looked hopeful for a mere second before Xemnas continued.

"We need at least six more members. Fully doubling our ranks would be ideal. And it cannot be too difficult—have everyone working on it." he said. Saix's face fell.

"Fourteen more members? Superior! Will we have enough space...?" he inquired. He was desperately trying to avoid the colossal effort of finding fourteen new Nobodies, and all of the work that would come with it.

"Have Lexaeus, Xaldin, and a few others renovate the castle. Saix, get to work." Xemnas said curtly. He was done talking; they were getting more members.

"Yes...sir." Saix sighed, defeated. He excused himself from the office and set off to gather the members and assign tasks.

"The others are going to be after my blood, I'm sure of it."

* * *

"...we're actually doubling our ranks?" Axel scoffed in the Gray Area, about thirty minutes later. The news had been given out and as expected, they were very unenthusiastic about the prospect.

"I thought that was a joke!" Xigbar exclaimed.

"This is ridiculous. Where are we going to find fourteen new recruits?" Vexen demanded.

Saix was swamped by complaints and questions, and it was all he could do to prevent one of them from taking out their weapons and murdering him.

"I understand your complaints!" he said loudly, over the mixed voices, "But Lord Xemnas has ordered us to do this. So please—do it."

"Fine.." Xion murmured, "Where do we start?"

"Yeah, where?" Demyx asked. He, personally, was excited about the idea of all those new people. Surely one of them would share his love of music and goofing off!

"I have assigned you to different worlds—you are to investigate them in trios. Axel, Roxas, and Xion, you are to go to Traverse Town and search there. Xigbar, Demyx, and Luxord, you three are to check out Destiny Isles. Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion—Hollow Bastion. And Marluxia, Larxene, and Xaldin, you are assigned to Twilight Town. Return to me when you have either found or failed to find a possible recruit, as we have many more worlds to check out." Saix said, handing the groups their respective mission papers.

The members departed with much bad-tempered muttering and quiet commentary, disdainfully awaiting their momentous task.

"This is going to suck." Axel muttered bluntly as he, Xion, and Roxas left.

* * *

The search for new members went...horribly.

Day after day, tired, disgruntled, irritable Organization XIII members approached Saix with their reports. There weren't any really decent fighters in many of the worlds, and it was becoming a true stress trying to glean them out.

"Just keep searching." Saix would tell them. He was worried; the reports and paperwork had really begun to pile up, and Xemnas was never anywhere to be found! Every time Saix approached the Superior's door, there was either no one home, or a sign that said "Do Not Disturb ~ For Anything."

Which left Saix alone to take over for him. The only plus side was that the Castle was much emptier and quieter when everyone was gone.

Larxene approached him one day, looking more annoyed than usual.

"This is pointless! Where's Mansex at? I need to tell him that this is a complete waste of time!" she spat. Saix, who now had dark circles underneath his eyes from lack of sleep, just sighed and answered: "The Superior is out again."

Larxene shot him a venomous glare before stomping away to her room.

"You know what is ironic?" Luxord asked him. He had heard the entire conversation, and was smiling to himself. "The only reason we have been searching for new members was to help make progress on Kingdom Hearts. But now, we're making next to no progress at all!"

It took Saix a moment to process this, and Luxord walked away, laughing his head off.

"...that is ironic." the Luna Diviner sighed, rubbing his temples.

* * *

It had been about three weeks since the order had been sent, and still no progress on the new members or Kingdom Hearts had been made.

Saix approached the Superior's office door with little hope, as the silver-haired Nobody had been missing for three days now. Upon reaching the door, Saix knocked and listened to the hollow sound. No reply.

He turned around and began to walk away, when he heard the oh-so-quiet sound of a turning doorknob.

"Ah, Saix, there you are."

The blue-haired man turned around and saw his leader standing in the office door. Saix noticed that he had dark rings under his eyes as well, as if he had been working very hard on something or the other.

"Superior! You're actually here!" the second-in-command exclaimed, "Superior, I must ask you to please withdraw..."

Xemnas held up a hand for silence.

"Saix, Saix, everything is taken care of. Assemble the members in the Hall of Empty Melodies in thirty minutes—everything will be explained then." he said.

When the door closed, Saix stared at the plain frame, uncertain. Had the Superior actually lost it? It wasn't as though any progress had been made!

Nevertheless, the ever-loyal Saix departed to assemble the Organization in the Hall. Many were out on missions and some were wandering the halls somewhere; it would take a while to get them all together.

* * *

"Why're we here again?" Demyx asked, half an hour later. The Organization was assembled in the Hall of Empty Melodies, and all thirteen of them were impatiently awaiting their master's arrival.

"Superior said to, that's why." Xigbar said.

"Ugh...how long will he be?" Larxene questioned, her voice thick with annoyance.

"Calm down, XII." Xaldin told her.

"Yes, calm down, XII. I am here." a deep voice boomed into the room.

The bickering members fell silent, both in respect and in surprise at what the Superior had brought with him...


	2. Ten to Take On

Ten younger Nobodies, lined up in no particular order, stared at the Organization with mixed looks of confusion, amusement, disdain, and a variety of other emotions some of the older Nobodies couldn't even explain. The Organization was caught completely off-guard, and could only stare at the new arrivals, at an utter loss for words.

"Everyone, meet your new colleagues." Xemnas said calmly.

Axel gawked, dumbstruck, at the new people. He couldn't believe the Superior had actually gathered them there, when the rest of them hadn't found anything! He especially didn't know how he had gathered such a...variety of characters in such a small amount of time!

One of the new people had on a black jacket, a black shirt, and worn blue jeans, while another one wore a green and white shirt that read 'Hope' in blue letters. And the little one in the background didn't escape his notice, either, she was clad in a royal blue tee and a silver jacket that matched the shirt to a 'T.'

"Superior...? Where did you find all of them?" Saix asked, his voice rising with anxiety. He wasn't concerned with the looks of the new people, he was concerned with the amount of time and work that would be devoted to these ten newcomers! Oh, the paperwork, the organizing, not to mention assigning mentors to proteges...

He almost fainted. Almost.

"Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, Traverse Town, Destiny Isles, and a variety of other worlds you failed to check properly." Xemnas continued.

Xaldin was watching the new people apprehensively. Without taking his eyes off of them, he inquired, "And...what are their names?"

Xemnas actually smiled. One by one, he gestured towards one of the new fourteen Nobodies and said their names aloud.

"This is Kory Fyre Morte." he said, gesturing to the one with the black jacket.

"Kiya." he pointed to the girl with the "Hope" shirt.

"Elis." a shy looking girl with dark gray bangs that hid her face.

"Alyssa." a blonde haired girl whose face was hidden behind her hair.

"Tamenthe." a tall, blue-haired girl with silver eyes.

"Emily."

"Eriva."

"Kennedy."

"Amber."

"And finally, Allie." Xemnas finished, laying a hand on the youngest girl's head.

"They will serve as the first ten new arrivals, and I expect you all to treat them with the utmost respect." the Superior informed them.

In the silence that followed, Axel muttered to Roxas, "Crud, I've already forgotten their names."

"The meeting to rename and re-identify them all will be held later tonight, after we have given them some time to adjust to their new surroundings. I assume that is alright?" the silver-haired leader asked of the ten neophytes.

The tall, blue-haired one, Tamenthe, nodded.

"Yes, that is quite alright." she said.

Xemnas left, satisfied, and without much concern as to how his original underlings would react to being left alone with the newcomers. All he knew was that it would probably involve Luxord asking for a poker tournament.

* * *

Left alone, the originals and the neophytes continued looking each other up and down. Axel smiled to himself. If it came to a fight, the neophytes were outnumbered 10 to 13, minus Xemnas.

"Well, don't just stare." one of the girls, Kennedy, scoffed.

"Whaddaya expect, kiddie?" Xigbar countered.

"Don't call me 'kiddie', Ponytail!" Kennedy retorted.

"Why you little—!"

"Enough!" Saix broke in.

"No quarreling. Everyone is to either get along or ignore each other until the meeting. It's one or the other, and nothing in between." he said curtly.

Kennedy and Xigbar pulled back, eying each other.

"Yeah, sure Saix." the older Nobody said.

"Hmpf." the feisty girl muttered.

"And what about the rest of you, what can you lot do?" the pony-tailed elder asked, turning to the other nine.

The blue-haired girl Tamenthe gave a long, low whistle and a red and white bird flew out of nowhere. It alighted on her shoulder and watched the Nobodies with beady eyes, ruffling its feathers.

"This is my companion, he's a cockatoo." she explained. As if in agreement, the bird gave a squawk.

Vexen jumped back in surprise as the bird seemed to glare at him, its eyes narrowed.

"Why is that thing staring at me in such a wretched manner?" he demanded.

The bird just squawked innocently and sidled closer to Tamenthe's ear, giving it an affectionate peck.

Roxas laughed.

"That bird isn't staring at you, Vexen." he said, smiling.

Even Axel had to laugh a little.

Luxord cut in, shuffling his cards.

"Well that's all well and good. But what about the rest of you, lad and lassies?" he questioned.

Emily spoke up.

"Eh, I 'unno. Really, I just wanna have fun." she said, smiling widely.

"That's my kind of person!" Demyx exclaimed. He approached her and threw his arm around her shoulder, "And I was just beginning to think this whole crew was full of quiet, unexciting people. Granted, the bird was cool an' all, but I was hoping there'd be a prankster among you!"

Emily laughed.

"Then I'm your girl!"

The Organization groaned. Great, now they were going to have two Demyxes.

Eriva sent a sharp glance Marluxia's way.

"Who're you, pink hair?" she asked in a teasing way. Marluxia was taken aback.

"Um...Marluxia..?" he said, unsure.

"Then I shall call you Marly." Eriva said, smirking, "So what're you, a hair stylist?"

"No...no, I'm not. I'm a gardener." Marluxia replied.

Eriva held a hand to her mouth and snickered.

"A...gardener." Emily said, wide-eyed, "That's not the manliest thing..."

"Believe me, we know." Demyx nodded sagely. Then in a whisper, he added, "We're not even sure how...y'know, sane he is."

"I heard that, Demyx!" Marluxia hissed, "And resent it, I might add!"

Lexaeus' attention turned to Alyssa. She was one of the quieter, out-of-the-way ones, and he just barely noticed her.

"And what about you? Alyssa, is it?" he asked.

"Um...not much to say about me, really.." her voice was quiet and she trailed off soon, absentmindedly patting her dull blonde hair. Lexaeus left it at that. He could relate; after all, he was the quietest current Organization member.

Zexion's attention was drawn to the one called Elis, whose head was down and was busily watching the floor.

Sensing the young Nobody's eyes upon her, Elis looked up, but her bangs still covered her eyes, shutting them off from view.

"Elis, yes? What can you do?" the illusionist asked.

He, that is to say, they, was taken aback when the small doll she had been holding spoke in her place.

"Puppetry. I control puppets and dolls." it said.

Axel stared.

"That is...kind of creepy." he said finally.

The doll didn't answer, rather, it went quiet and it was clear Elis was done talking.

"...to fill the awkward void, what about the rest of you?" Saix asked.

"I'm a pyro," the girl named Amber said, "I fight fire with fire, and I'm not afraid to get burned."

Axel grinned suddenly.

"My kind of girl." he said matter-of-factly, nodding his head.

"Yeah, just get on my bad side and you're gone." Amber replied, smirking.

"Good luck trying." Axel answered with a wry smile.

The others stared. They had been doing that a lot lately. Was this some weird banter thing that happened whenever two sadistic pyromaniacs met? Or was it just that they didn't like each other?

"Uh-huh, yeah...and what about you?" Xigbar asked sharply to the smallest one, Allie. She jumped from the sudden outburst and stared, wide-eyed, at the Freeshooter. She backed up a bit but didn't say anything, only continuing to gaze at him.

"What? What?!" Xigbar demanded. He was kind of annoyed—ten new neophytes to adjust to and they were taking in an eight-year-old who couldn't even form a sentence! The Organization seemed to be going to the dogs!

"I asked ya a question, kiddo, what can you do, and why did Superior pick you to join?" he repeated.

"Um...I'm...a...a mimic..." Allie's voice could hardly be heard and her gaze returned to the floor.

"A mimic? So basically you can't do anything but copy people? Ripoff, dude, seriously." Xigbar scoffed.

Allie stared at him for a second before her hair suddenly flattened out and extended behind her head into a long, dangling ponytail. Her face became half-covered by a blue eye patch and a long scar snaked across her left cheek, much alike to Xigbar's, and her eyes lightened slightly in shade. In a second, the transformation had completed, and a miniature Xigbar was standing before the first.

"I do copy people...but I get most of it right. If I knew you better, I could've done a better copy." Xigbar-Allie said. Her voice was a bit deeper now, with the "surfer"-tinted accent lying underneath her words, and her voice was much, much more confident. It was very strange to hear it coming from the mouth of an eight-year-old.

"...That is quite an interesting ability." Saix said, staring in fascination at the transfigured Nobody. Xigbar-Allie shrugged and soon, she was back to her normal shape. His attention was drawn to the last neophyte, who was talking in quiet tones with Zexion.

"And you, Kory, what can you do?" he asked.

Kory looked up.

"This will sound rather queer...but I seem to have a heightened control over darkness. I understand you Nobodies can fade in and out of darkness whenever you please...but I have noticed that I seem to be able to literally fade into darkness. And control it as if it were a kind of dark magic." he said. He shrugged and returned to his conversation with Zexion, ignoring the twenty-two others.

"So...do any of you play poker, by any chance?" asked Luxord suddenly.

"No...?" Kory replied.

"Not...really." Alyssa admitted.

"No." Elis' doll spoke again.

"I don't." Allie said, gaining a bit of confidence.

"Well of course you can't." Luxord told her.

"I do, sometimes." Eriva said.

"I'll try." Emily added.

"I'll...give it a shot." Tamenthe said. Her bird squawked.

"Fantastic!" Luxord exclaimed.

"Wow, Lux, they haven't been here thirty minutes and you're already cheating them of their munny..." Xaldin said.

"I don't cheat! I'm just better than you at poker." Luxord replied. "Shall we play now?" he asked to the three neophytes.

"Not right now, Luxord. We have a meeting to prepare for." Saix reminded him. Luxord drew back, muttering.

"Right, right. Fine. After the meeting." the Gambler muttered.

"Yes...after the meeting you can begin to rob these children of their munny and their sanity. You are such a saint, Luxord." Zexion commented dryly.

"Aren't I?" the card-player answered.

"Allow us to show to you to your rooms." Saix said to the newcomers, "We'll call you when the meeting is about to begin."

The neophytes just nodded.

* * *

An hour later found twenty-three Nobodies gathered in the Round Room, the original thirteen members of the Organization in their respective seats, and the ten rookies on the ground below.

"My friends, we are gathered here today to welcome these new Nobodies into our ranks...and re-identify them with a new name, a number, and an assigned mentor. It is my hope that they will feel welcomed in our castle...and so, let us begin."

"Amber, your new name from here on, is Axbrem. Your number is XXIII, and you shall be trained by Axel." the Superior continued. Axbrem gave Axel a thumbs up, who gave her another one back.

"Kiya, from now on you are named Xiyak. Your number is XXII, and your mentor shall be Larxene." Xemnas said, gesturing to Kiya.

The newly named Xiyak nodded and cast a grin up at Larxene, who simply sneered back.

"Eriva, you are hereby named Xavier, and your number shall be XXI. Your mentor will be Marluxia." continued the leader. Xavier smiled at Marluxia, who, remembering the hair stylist comment from earlier, grimaced slightly.

"Emily, you are now Leixym, and will be taught by—and I can not believe I am saying this—Demyx. Your number is XX."

Demyx and Leixym cheered together. In the hour and half they had known each other, the two had grown very close.

"Continuing on," Xemnas said after the two had stopped their cheering, "where was I...oh yes, Kennedy. You are now called Knexedy, your number is XIX, and you will be instructed by Vexen."

Knexedy nodded and Vexen twitched, unsure of his new protege. But nonetheless, he nodded.

"Elis, you are now known as Xisel. Your number is XVIII, and you will be taught by Zexion." Xemnas continued, nearing the end of his speech. Xisel turned her head in Zexion's direction and Zexion nodded down at her. They both weren't on speaking terms, yet—neither having much to say, truly.

"Kory...you are now known as Kyrox. Your number is XVII, and as you are not truly companionable with the others' elements...I have decided to be your instructor." Xemnas said, looking down at the teen. Kyrox looked up, surprised. The gathered did so as well, normally Xemnas had no time nor patience for teaching, much less being a mentor of his own accord!

Xemnas continued after a brief pause to regain his breath.

"Tamenthe, you are now to be called Amenxtthe. Your mentor is Xaldin, and your number is XVI." he said.

Amenxtthe's cockatoo gave a loud squawk of satisfaction. It was obviously pleased with the choice. Amenxtthe nodded.

"And finally...Allie." Xemnas said, his roving, orange gaze finding the small girl.

"From here on, your name shall be Axille. Your number is XV, and Roxas shall be your instructor."

Axille blinked uncertainly up at Roxas, who returned the look with satisfaction. He gave her a reassuring smile and returned his attention to Xemnas, who had cleared his throat again and was getting ready to talk again.

"Neophytes, you will be granted two weeks to adjust to the castle and to your fellow members. But after that grace period, you shall begin your work for the Organization. By this, I mean simply attacking and killing Heartless in the many different worlds, performing recon, and fetching such-and-such items." he said.

He waited a brief moment for this to sink in before he went on.

"Now, everyone, this has been a long—and I dare say, eventful, day. Return to your rooms and get some rest. Dismissed."

* * *

The Organization members, new and old, kept to their rooms, still wary of each others' presence. The neophytes were concerned of the older members, and the older members were concerned of the neophytes.

After all, in one day, Organization XIII had swelled to Organization XXVIII, and one could only imagine the trouble and chaos that could come from that!

* * *

**I decided to write the next chapter based on what we have. Many thanks to Chewan, sonicdisney, Zexiontwo, Leixym, beckster411, Sun and Moon Entity, Infinite Eyes, and Bond of Flame08 for letting me use their OC's in this endeavor!**

**More to come when we have more OC's to work with. I will try to get the next chapters posted as soon as possible!**


	3. The Final Four!

Saix inwardly cursed himself.

Honestly, he had no idea what the Superior was thinking! The ten neophytes created havoc everywhere they went! In the three days they had been there, the pyros had started three fires in the kitchen, Xemnas' room, and Marluxia's garden; Larxene and Xiyak had caused seven black-outs when the two lightning-wielders sparred; and worst of all...

_**BOOM!**_

Saix dropped the stack of papers he had been holding in shock. The papers fluttered to the ground as the loud, obnoxious whine of one hundred fire alarms set off and the unmistakeable scent of smoke drifted into the Grey Area.

"Knexedy blew up the lab again." Xigbar commented from his spot on the couch.

"I am well aware of that, II." Saix said bad-temperedly as he bent down to gather up the documents. To his greatest displeasure, it was discovered that XIX's element was—ironically—explosions. Of the chemical brand. And worse yet, the teenager had little control over her ability, and so it resulted in a series of eruptions that could be triggered by anything. Especially her fear of spiders, which were common in that dusty old basement laboratory.

"Hehe..." Demyx snickered as he and Leixym walked in, "Do you think Knexedy enjoyed that gift we left her, Ly?"

Leixym nodded, smiling, "I don't get what her deal is though—it was just a rubber spider, after all."

Demyx stopped suddenly.

"Ohhh...you said rubber spider?" he asked sheepishly.

Saix, having gathered up the papers, glared daggers at the two pranksters before disappearing through a dark corridor. Like them or not, the Superior had a strict "No Killing the Neophytes" policy—unless they were traitors. Then he could eat them, if he wanted.

Xigbar laughed to himself.

"Heh...good one, you two." he said. He looked around at the sound of two dark corridors, and raised a brow as Axel and Axbrem stepped through.

"Well, hi!" Demyx smiled.

"Hey." Axbrem greeted him. Axel just nodded.

"You guys, we have a meeting later—Mansex says it's important." the redhead informed them.

"Another meeting? Aw, I was hoping we'd be able to go do something fun." Demyx said, crossing his arms in a mock-pout.

"You're such a little kid!" Leixym exclaimed.

"You're a littler one!" Demyx retorted.

"'Cause I'm younger than you! What's your excuse?" the girl answered with a sly smirk.

"Err..."

"She has you pegged there, doesn't she, Demyx?"

They all turned around.

Marluxia and Xavier had appeared, along with Xaldin and Amenxtthe.

"Hey, guys!" Axbrem waved.

"Hey, Axbrem!" Xavier returned, walking over to her. Amenxtthe went to join them, her loyal cockatoo, Belxeo, flying behind her.

"So, what've you guys been up to?" Xavier asked.

Axbrem answered, "Not much. Axel's been showing me around, messing up Marly's garden, the works."

"Oh yeah, he was pretty steamed at that. Good job." Xavier snickered."And what about you, Amen?" she asked, turning to the blue-haired girl.

"Xaldin's been showing me the basics of combat—maneuvering weapons, using my element in battle, etcetera, etcetera." Amen replied nonchalantly. "By the way, did you hear about the meeting later?"

Xavier smacked herself on the forehead.

"Aw, no, there's a meeting tonight? We didn't hear a thing!" she groaned.

"Wonder what it could be this time?" Axbrem wondered.

"Guess we'll find out later, eh?" Amen chuckled.

Leixym and Demyx drifted over to join in the idle chatter as the older members exchanged a few words as well.

"What do you make of the neophytes so far, Xigbar?" Xaldin asked his friend, who was currently standing upside down on the ceiling—again.

"They're okay; a few of them are way too annoying or quiet for my liking, though." the gunner admitted.

"Better to have quiet neophytes than noisy ones, though, right?" Axel asked philosophically.

"Or best to have some in-between." Marluxia said, "Xavier never ceases in calling me a 'hair stylist' or 'Marly'! And she did nothing to help when you and your wretched protege burned down my garden!"

"Well, to reply to your first comment, it's easy to call you a hair stylist, Marly. You have pink hair, it's fluffy, and spiky at the same time—what do you expect? And to answer your second comment...it's a garden, and we pyros get bored easily. You do the math." Axel grinned.

"I ought to take a Venus flytrap to your head and see how much it can swallow, Axel." Marluxia growled.

"Nah, no thanks. Besides, I don't think flytraps like their meals spicy..."

"Alright, put a cork in it." Xigbar cut in, "The other ones, Kyrox, Syaxsal, Xiyak, and the rest, are all quiet and annoying in their own way. But as long as they get their work done when they start, I don't have a reason to complain."

"The only one I really have issues with, is that child, Axille. I've never even seen her weapon, and she shies from combat like it's a poison! Honestly, the Superior must not have been thinking clearly when he let her join—she can't do anything!" Xaldin said, exasperated.

"Actually—I've seen her weapon," Axel said, "it's weirder than Xisel's...she uses theater masks kinda similar to the way Zexion uses his book. Hitting stuff."

"Fun, fun, fun." Marluxia said sarcastically.

Axel retorted, "Stuff it, hair stylist!"

They were interrupted by Luxord, who was standing in the doorway.

"Oy, you lot are late for the meeting. Best get a jump on it 'fore it's too late." he warned them before he disappeared through a dark corridor, undoubtedly on his way to the meeting.

"Oh yeah!" Demyx exclaimed, "The meeting! C'mon, Lei, let's go!"

The Nobodies collected their students and vanished to the Round Room with them, their dark corridors swallowing them up as they went through.

* * *

Xemnas was calmly waiting for the rest of the members to assemble in the meeting room. When they had, he swiftly brought their attention to him, a sly smile resting on his features.

"Good tidings, friends, today I have some wonderful news. We have finally found the last four members we needed to completely double our ranks—I expect you all to treat them with respect." he said.

Axel, on his chair with Axbrem, adopted a frozen look of horror. Four more neophytes?

"We welcome Darte, Elly, Vace, and Ian into our ranks. Today, we give them new identities under which they will live by, and a mentor who will teach them about this Organization."

"Ian, from now on, you are known as Anix. Saix has agreed to mentor you, and your number is XXV, welcome." the Superior continued.

Anix nodded and looked up at Saix, who was quietly observing the scene.

Xemnas went on. "Elly, from now on, you are known as Xylle, number XXVI. Xion has agreed to be your teacher."

Xylle swept her dark green hair away from lighter green eyes and sent a glance in Xion's direction. The girl in question was seated on the left armrest of Roxas' chair, as Axille was occupying the right.

"We're running out of seats here..." Xigbar commented in a quiet, sing-song fashion. He fell silent at the fiery glare Xemnas pierced him with, and leaned into his chair, eying the show below.

"Vace, you are now Cavex. Organization XIII welcomes you as its number XXVII, and Luxord will be your teacher." the lead Nobody said. Luxord blinked in surprise.

"Uh...what?" he asked.

Cavex just nodded without looking up at Luxord.

"And, this brings us to number XXVIII. Darte, from henceforth, you are called Darxet, and Xigbar shall be your teacher." Xemnas said.

Xigbar choked.

"Say what?!" he questioned sharply.

"You heard me, Xigbar. Everyone else, including myself, have taken on an apprentice, and I see no reason why you should feel left out." the Superior replied.

The Freeshooter blinked down at Darxet, who just returned the look through light brown eyes.

"Neophytes, you all have fourteen days to become adjusted to your new surroundings, before your work begins. And as for the original fourteen members...no, we will not be getting more members after this. I daresay fourteen is enough." Xemnas said.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the original fourteen relaxed. Thank goodness!

"Dismissed."

* * *

The Neophytes, all fourteen of them, were seated on the Altar of Naught a few hours later, simply for the purpose of getting to know each other.

"You have a bird?" Xylle asked Amenxtthe, as Belxeo flew up to settle on her shoulder.

Amen nodded. "Yes, his name is Belxeo. It used to be Ebelo, but of course, his name was changed when we joined." she smiled.

"Interesting." Anix said, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back onto the partition that divided the altar from a hard plunge onto a marble stairway.

"And, hey, how about you?" Darxet asked Xisel.

Her doll spoke up.

"Nothing, really. Oh—don't be alarmed, it's only a doll." it said. "By the way, this doll's name is Oz."

Darxet gawked at the talking doll for a moment before turning his attention to one of the others—Kyrox, who had been sitting quietly in the background.

"You're...Kyrox, right?" Darxet asked.

Kyrox nodded. "That I am."

"Dude...is it hard being Xemnas' apprentice?" Leixym asked. Kyrox looked at her and grimaced slightly.

"You could say that. Half of the time, he lectures me about so-and-so, and the other half we're in the Training Room." he made a face, "Of course, sometimes I'm being his little intern for him—getting him coffee and the likes."

"That sounds like Saix would be." Axbrem snickered, "I feel bad for you, Anix."

"Why? Is Saix that bad?" Anix asked.

"He's a nightmare!" Xavier exclaimed, "An old fuddy-duddy who wouldn't know the meaning of fun if it attacked him and bit his pointy elf ears off!"

They all laughed at that—even stoic Anix.

"Then wish me luck." he said.

"Good luck!" Axille piped up. She brushed a lock of hair away from her face and smiled, her quiet, timid facade melting away at an instant.

"Hey! You can talk!" Leixym exclaimed, poking the girl's head.

"Of course she talks! She talked the day we got here, Ly." Xiyak said.

"Yeah but that was all stutter-y! Only when she became Xigbar-Axille did she actually talk." Leixym answered.

"I'm right here!" Axille said loudly.

Everyone laughed.

The neophytes spent the rest of the night chatting amiably, comfortable in each others' presence. It was clear they were all going to become very close friends.

* * *

**And here we go, chapter 3! The first chapter with all fourteen Neophytes together! ^_^ Remember: this story has no definite plotline yet, it will mostly be about how the Organization adjusts to having literally twice as many in their number :)**

**I want to thank the following people for their wonderful Ocs and their help in making this story real:**

**Zexiontwo, Chewan, Sonicdisney, Infinite Eyes, Gambler of fate22, Sun and Moon Entity, Beckster411, Leixym, Bond of Flame08, emmausgirl94, and last but certainly not least—Witch of Tragedies! This story wouldn't have ever been written without all of you. :D**


	4. Grace Period: Movie Night!

_Original AN:_** Okay, if you want the honest truth, I felt pressed for time and I wrote like, three different versions of this chapter. Bond of Flame08 gave me the idea of a movie night/sleepover for the neophytes, and trust me, it was way more fun than the weird-a*s stuff I had o.O**  
**Sorry if the Ocs seem a bit...OOC. Again, I blame feeling pressured (I'm paranoid, I've taken a test that's said I'm moderately paranoid), being somewhat sick all week (due to irl issues), and having the mood of an emo rock for five days (again, irl issues) ;-;**

**Don't worry, I PROMISE I will come back and re-write this again one day.**

**Disclaimers: I only own the OC of Axille. Other Ocs belong to their rightful owners. I do not own KH. I do not own the movies listed below, Dreamworks, Disney, or whatever else is in here.**

**-Az.**

* * *

Xavier jumped off her bed at the loud knock that came from her bedroom door.

She crossed the room and opened the door, smiling as eleven her fellow neophytes filed in, one at a time.

"Hey, guys! We all ready for this?" she asked them all as they passed.

Leixym threw herself down on the bed and flicked on the TV, grinning widely.

"Yep! Kennie and I got the movies, Axille and Xisel got the snacks, and Kyrox and Anix are getting the Superiors off our backs for the rest of the night!" she informed her.

"Fantastic! What movies are we watching? You picked good ones, right?" Axbrem asked as she set herself on the floor with Darxet and Xiyak.

"Yeah, we found a kid's one called Lady and the Tramp (it's a classic, we just couldn't resist!), How To Train Your Dragon, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid." Knexedy said as she fell over next to Xavier and made herself comfortable.

"Hey, we're here." Kyrox's voice came from the doorway. He and Anix shuffled in, Anix kicking the door closed behind him.

"Awesome! Did Superiors I and VII let us have the night off?" Amen asked from her position at the far wall.

"Yes, they've OK-ed movie and sleepover night. I was surprised, personally, I doubt they do movie nights here very often." Anix answered. "But they made it abundantly clear that girls and boys sleep in separate rooms."

"That's fair, I suppose." Cavex murmured. She turned to Syaxsal, who was sitting beside her, and asked. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Syaxsal. Are you okay with this?"

Syaxsal nodded, tying the white piece of cloth that covered her face a bit tighter, "Yes, I'm okay with it. Just let me know what's going on."

"You got it, Sal!" Leixym said cheerfully. They had all learned that Syaxsal was blind—that she had been born that way, and they all went out of their way to make her feel welcome in whatever it was that they did.

"Here, I'll turn the volume up louder so you get a better earful of what's going down." Xavier who had been given control of the remote, offered, turning up the volume.

Syaxsal nodded, "Thank you."

"Alright, Lady and the Tramp is a-go!" Xavier said, thrusting the DVD into the tray and starting up the movie.

The neophytes had been planning movie night for a while. And as their "grace period" would be over in two days, they were determined to make the most of the free time they had. It had taken some wheeling-and-dealing with the older members, especially with Axille having a "curfew" of eight o'clock sharp. But eventually, Roxas was won over—provided she didn't watch any "horror" films. Basically; no Anacondas.

Axbrem passed the popcorn around and everyone took some. Xylle, who was gradually growing bored with the movie, entertained herself by flicking popcorn up into the air and catching it in her mouth. Once, Belxeo flew over and snatched a piece right out of the air, resulting in raucous laughter from the young Nobodies, and Xylle to give them all death glares.

"Oh this is the night, it's a beautiful night, and they call it Bella Notte..." Darxet, Xavier, and even Knexedy joined in the song.

A loud knock on the door interrupted them and Leixym paused the movie, wide-eying the door.

"Hey, neophytes, what're you doing?" someone called.

Kyrox blinked before rising to answer the door. He opened it to find Xigbar standing in the hall, his arms crossed.

"Oh, hello Xigbar, is something wrong?" the teen asked.

"Nope, just wondering why it's almost ten at night and all fourteen of you neophytes are in one room." Xigbar stated.

"Movie night." Xiyak replied simply.

"We got Xemnas and Saix's permission, if that's what you're wondering." Amenxtthe assured him.

"'Kay, so long as you're not doing this without permission and hey—!" he said sharply to Axille, Cavex, and Leixym, "Shouldn't you lot be in bed?"

"I'm fifteen." Leixym pouted.

"I am too." Cavex said.

"...Roxas is okay with it!" Axille said defensively as the elder Nobody gave her a one-eyed stare.

"Can we please continue our movie in peace, Xig?" Xavier asked him exasperatedly when he made no move to leave.

Shrugging, Xigbar turned around and disappeared down the corridor—back to his own room.

Leixym turned the movie on again and they spent the next fifteen or so minutes in mostly undisturbed silence, broken only when some of them sang along to "He's a Tramp!"

"Can someone please pass me the popcorn?" Syaxsal asked as she listened intently to the movie, and her friends' singing. She was receiving frame-by-frame, surprisingly detailed descriptions of the goings-on of the movie, thanks to Cavex.

"Sure, here you go." Anix said, passing the bowl over.

"Thanks." Syaxsal replied, tilting her head towards Cavex, who was updating her about the movie.

Xisel had pulled out a book and was reading it intently as the credits rolled past the screen. Leixym leapt up off her seat and went over to replace the movie with How To Train Your Dragon.

"Can't we watch one of the others?" Xylle asked as the Dreamworks logo came on, "Something not made by Disney or Dreamworks or both of them?"

"Nope. Not yet, anyways." Leixym winked.

How To Train Your Dragon was more entertaining than expected; at least four times, everyone in the room had burst into laughter.

"Haha, god that was funny!" Leixym exclaimed, holding her side.

Oz the doll was about to reply when a loud banging came from the door.

"Oy! Calm down in there!" Luxord's angry voice shouted.

The neophytes fell silent, but only for a little bit; as soon as Luxord's footsteps receded down the hall, they broke into fits of giggles as the main character said "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

When the movie was done, they moved on the Pirates of the Caribbean, by far their longest video. They all fell in love with the witty Captain Jack Sparrow and Mr. Gibbs, and shamelessly despised Cutler Beckett and Davy Jones.

By the end, Axille had finally fallen asleep, having satisfied her attention span and her queer fondness of pirates. The others were far from sleeping, and Leixym mischievously popped Anacondas into the DVD player.

"Hope none of you are scared of snakes, I think there might be one or two of them in here..."

She was knocked flat by a well-hurled pillow, thrown by Darxet.

"I know, I know! I was just joking and—oh my god that snake is HUGE!"

Leixym threw herself to the floor and watched, wide-eyed, as a gigantic snake slithered across the screen, ominous music playing in the background.

Knexedy couldn't help herself, and she chanted with a smile, "Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuun."

* * *

_Original AN: _**Wow**.** This was...different xD**

**I know it's sort-of all over the place :P and yes, I was shamelessly using quotes from popular movies. Again, I don't own the aforementioned movies.**

**Just so's you know, Lady and the Tramp, How To Train Your Dragon, PotC: AWE, and Anacondas are among my absolute favorite videos of all time. So, yes, I felt the need to include them all.**

**-Hides in her house, locking the door.- Sorry for making such a stupid chapter, the next ones will be better-thought-out and written! D:**


	5. The First Missions are Always the Worst

"Neophytes, I hope you are ready to begin earning your keep." Saix was saying over the heads of the collected Organization XIII—all 28 of them.

"Earn what keep? They brought us here 'cause they were short-handed.." Axbrem muttered to Xavier, who was standing beside her. Xavier nodded and pointedly rolled her eyes in Saix's direction.

Lucky for them, Saix hadn't heard or noticed, as he was dealing with a very unenthusiastic Leixym and Demyx.

"Aw, what? We have to work now?" Leixym asked incredulously.

"We have to work too?" Demyx demanded, "I thought we could have a break!"

"You've had a 'break' for the past two weeks, IX!" Saix exclaimed, "It will not kill you to do a simple recon mission."

"Recon's for suckers," Xigbar snorted, "you're getting the easy-off, Dem."

"No I'm not!" Demyx exclaimed, "Recon's dangerous! I could get hurt, or attacked, or bored, and..."

"Oh shut up!" Xigbar snarled.

"Enough!" Xemnas, who had been listening to the argument with a dwindling patience, commanded. Everyone fell silent. "Do your work and I'll hear no further complaints. Or else." he added warningly.

"Ooh, the big 'or else'. Best run and hide, Ly, you don't want to get hit with the big 'or else'." Knexedy snickered, none too quietly.

Saix shot her a glare that warned 'Shut up or I'll eat you' and turned back to handing out mission papers. Knexedy smirked unashamedly at his turned back, and Vexen could only stare in surprise at the utter lack of disrespect radiating from his protege.

Saix passed out the papers to the paired members, keeping two sets to himself. He watched the neophytes' expressions of disbelief, excitement, and maybe a little bit of resentment, before they were all shepherded out of the Grey Area by their mentors. Soon only he, Anix, Xemnas, and Kyrox were left in the Area.

"Superior, number XVII, your mission." Saix said respectfully as he gave them their papers.

Kyrox nodded and Xemnas gave a curt word of thanks before the both of them had disappeared into the darkness of a corridor.

"And that just leaves you and I." the second-in-command said to Anix.

Anix nodded and accepted his copy of their mission assignment.

"Shall we be going, then?" the black-haired Nobody asked.

* * *

Axel and Axbrem walked from the darkness into the tranquil Twilight Town. Axbrem immediately started taking in the sights while Axel scanned their mission assignment thoughtfully.

"There's a giant Heartless somewhere here—see anything?" he asked of her.

"Nope. So, is it identified or what?" Axbrem questioned.

"No, we have a UFH on our hands." Axel grinned.

Axbrem looked at him strangely, so he explained, "Unidentified Flying Heartless."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Axbrem asked, irritated.

"I like messing with people." Axel said simply, "Now enough goofing off; we can do that later. Let's find us a Heartless."

The two set off into the town, their weapons out and on their guard. After all, flying Heartless had a certain advantage over grounded Nobodies like them.

* * *

Leixym and Demyx fell from the dark corridor into the water-loving, musical world of Atlantica—the perfect place to goof off.

"I love Atlantica! Music, mermaids, shells, and everything's all ocean-y! I love this place!" Demyx exclaimed as he spun around to get a good look at his sea-green fish tail.

"I know, right? I just love the ocean! And getting to live in it? Best place ever!" answered Leixym as she spun around and around, showing off her electric blue tail fin.

"And to make it even better: we're only doing recon! It's like a vacation!" Demyx proclaimed, flipping his tail and jetting away, leaving behind a rising trail of bubbles.

"Hey, wait up!" Leixym called after him. She flipped her tail awkwardly before dog-paddling after him, not quite accustomed to swimming completely submerged underwater, "How the heck do you steer this thing?!"

"Just swim!" Demyx was out of sight now, but the salty water carried his voice for amazingly long distances.

Relaxing, Leixym trod water for a moment to get her bearings before flicking out after Demyx, swimming deeper and deeper into the strange aquatic world.

* * *

Xaldin and Amenxtthe appeared from the darkness in the Courtyard of Beast's Castle. Belxeo flew out after them and alighted on Amenxtthe's shoulder, cocking his head as if listening to Xaldin speak.

"I am sent here often. The lord of this Castle, the Beast, is a creature of great intrigue." Xaldin said.

"Why is he called the Beast? He's not an actual beast, is he?" Amen asked as they moved towards the secret entrance on the wall beside the grand front door.

"He is. From what I have gathered, a sorceress laid a curse on the inhabitants of this Castle, and so transformed the Beast into what he is today: a monster." answered Xaldin as the door opened and they stepped through.

"So...are we here to collect more information on the beast?" Amenxtthe questioned.

"Actually, no. We are here to test your prowess in battle; we are hunting a Bully Dog."

"Oh, okay. The assignment said we could find that in the ballroom, right?"

"Correct."

* * *

"Ah Wonderland," Luxord sighed as he and Cavex dropped out of their portal, "what a queer, alien place."

He looked sideways at Cavex, waiting for a reply. When none came, he commented, "My, my, you don't talk much, do you?"

Cavex shook her head, "I have nothing to say."

Luxord sighed.

"Fair enough. Our mission is to rid this place of those pesky Pink Concertos, that means we have to search the Lotus Forest. With any luck, we won't meet that insufferable Cheshire Cat along the way." the Gambler said.

Cavex just looked at him and followed after as he disappeared into the Queen's Court, looking to take the hole in the hedge to the Forest.

* * *

"WOW!"

Vexen flinched at Knexedy's sudden outburst. The girl was such a pain some times...

"This world is so cool! Look at that? What IS that?" Knexedy asked, pointing to an eerie looking fountain that spewed green water.

Of all the worlds, Vexen thought, why on earth would they send us to Halloween Town? The one world in the universe with the highest population of spiders?

"Knexedy, that's just a fountain." the scientist sighed, rubbing his temples with his knuckles.

"It can't be, fountains don't have green—OH MY GOD SPIDER!"

Knexedy screamed as a spider appeared on the top of the fountain. Needless to say, she blew up—literally.

"KNEXEDY!" Vexen shouted as he pulled his shield out of the darkness and covered himself with it, just barely escaping being burned to a crisp by the fiery explosion caused by the girl.

The spider burned in the inferno, and eventually, Knexedy calmed down enough to stop blowing things up. When he was sure it was safe, Vexen lowered his shield warily and set off into the Town, wanting to escape the scene before the townsfolk appeared and started asking uncomfortable questions.

"Now that that is over, please, let's just finish this mission." Vexen sighed.

"Okay. What's the mission?" Knexedy asked, now sufficiently recovered.

Vexen took another look at the mission assignment and cursed his existence.

"...kill a giant spider Heartless."

* * *

Marluxia and Xavier appeared from their own dark corridor into the world of Agrabah.

"Why send us here? Isn't Axel or Lexaeus the more logical choice?" Marluxia muttered.

"It's too hot." Xavier whined.

"What do you want me to do about it? Pull up your hood, for Kingdom Hearts' sake." Marluxia sighed as they set off.

"That'll only make me hotter! And plus: this place is so dusty! It's gross!" Xavier complained.

"Well, let's finish this mission and we can go back home."

"Fine...what is the mission, hair stylist?"

Marluxia twitched at his most despised nickname ever created.

"Kill a Clay Armor." he replied, with somewhat strained patience.

"M'kay, hair stylist." Xavier smiled.

"Xavier, stop calling me a hair stylist; I'm a gardener, for the last time!" Marluxia said in exasperation.

"Aw, but you're so fun to call a hair stylist, Marly!" Xavier exclaimed, "You get so mad and it's so fun!"

"Well, knock it off." the Assassin muttered.

Xavier sighed, putting on a mock-pout.

"Fine, I'll stop calling you a hair stylist." she said.

"Thank you." Marluxia breathed.

"So where do we find our Heartless, girl-hair?"

* * *

Xemnas, Kyrox, and Saix appeared behind Anix in their world, where they were supposed to work together to curb the unhealthy spike in Heartless. The two Superiors hoped they could rub off on their apprentices to make them as powerful and commanding as they were.

"...I know this place." Anix murmured thoughtfully, "It's my home world. The Valley of the Forge."

"...I was unaware of that." Saix said, "But we are here to downsize the alarming Heartless population here. I expect you to focus and not be sidetracked by nostalgia."

Anix merely replied, "Of course."

The four Nobodies were distracted from the conversation by the sudden appearance of the Heartless. The creatures came in droves; they dropped out of the darkness like no one's business, and before anyone could react ten of the beings had Anix pinned down, his scimitar, pulled from its sheath, spun away and vanished into the darkness.

"Anix!" Kyrox shouted. His own weapon appeared and the teen launched himself at his endangered friend, the two heads of his scythe cutting through the ranks of the advancing Heartless.

Xemnas and Saix stood in the background, looking on with interest. Neither made a move to aid their proteges.

"Aren't you gonna help?!" Anix shouted at Saix when Kyrox dislodged the last Heartless from him. The green-eyed teen summoned his scimitar (which was called a Sonic Blade) and lashed out at the Heartless that was silently advancing upon Kyrox.

"Actually, no. We were curious to see your current combat abilities, and we would hate to interfere.." Saix said.

"Anix, get down!" Kyrox shouted suddenly, sending blue flames into the sky as a huge shadow swooped by overhead, "Avalanche!"

* * *

Roxas walked out of the darkness onto a calm, sandy beach, Axille clinging tight to his hand. The small girl looked around wide-eyed, taking in as much of the beautiful scenery as she could.

"Axille, these are the Destiny Isles. We're here to see how well you can handle Pureblood Heartless, like Shadows and Neoshadows." Roxas told her.

"Shadows? Aren't they those bug things?" Axille asked him.

Roxas laughed at her blunt (though admittedly accurate) description of the smaller grade Heartless.

"Yeah. 'Those bug things' pretty much sums them up." he said.

Axille tilted her head and put on a serious face.

"But Roxy, those are so small! Why can't I fight the big Heartless like you and everyone else does?" she asked him.

Roxas huffed and ruffled the kid's hair affectionately.

"'Cause you're too small, Axille." he said.

Axille pouted. "Nuh-uh."

Roxas snickered and swept the eight-year-old up into his arms. "Uh-huh." he teased.

Axille glared at him (it was rather cute, actually) so the blonde set her down.

"Grazie." she said, in a weird accent. Roxas looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"Huh? I said 'thank you'." Axille said.

"You sure?" Roxas asked, uncertain.

"Yes...?" Axille said, her voice gaining pitch as she drew out the word.

"Never mind, never mind. Wait, look, a Heartless! Take out your weapon and think about what you've been learning." Roxas said, spying a Shadow.

Axille did as she was told, pulling her Makhaira from the darkness and advancing upon the Heartless, Roxas' encouragement sounding in the background.

* * *

Larxene and Xiyak came out of their portal into the grand entrance place for the Olympus Coliseum.

"'Kay, Zeeyak, or Neeyak, or Kayak, whatever you're called, let's get this over with." the Nymph said irritably.

"It's Xiyak. As in Shee-Ack. Or Shy-Ack, whichever." the teen replied, somewhat irritated herself. Two weeks stuck with Larxene made you short-tempered and irritable—it can't be helped.

"Whatever. Let's just finish this recon mission so we can get out of here." Larxene snarled.

The two Nobodies split up and began to investigate the Coliseum, taking down notes of every unusual thing or blemish in the normally pristine walls of the arena.

"Hey, Larxene, come here." Xiyak said after ten minutes of restless searching.

Larxene came and glowered at the younger woman with an annoyed, "What?"

"New contest." Xiyak explained, jerking her head towards a poster that had been hung up over the leaderboard, "'All rookies allowed to enter.' 'Huge munny prize.' Think we ought to try?"

Larxene looked mortified.

"NO!" she screeched. She was about to say something else when they heard the unmistakable voice of Hercules coming out of the Arena.

"...I don't know, Phil, this new Cup might not be such a good idea." they heard Herc say.

"Aw, come on, hero." the somewhat higher voice of Philoctetes said, "It'll be fine."

Xiyak stared as Hercules and Phil appeared and caught sight of her. There was a moment of confused silence when Xiyak noticed Larxene had ditched her.

_Forget you, Larx,_ she thought venomously.

"Well hello! Are you here to train for the new Zeus' Cup?" Hercules asked her.

"Er..." Xiyak was stuck for an answer.

"Great!" Hercules said. "Phil can show you around and get your started. What do you say, Phil?"

Phil agreed, and mentally Xiyak cursed the small satyr man.

_I officially hate Olympus._

* * *

"We've just got a collecting Hearts mission here. Let's do it and get it done, Darx." Xigbar said to his brown-eyed companion.

"M'kay, Xig." Darxet said in response.

He looked around. "Where are we, anyways?"

"Port Royal. Stay close, kid, lots of pickpockets and drunkards here." Xigbar replied as the two set off into the town.

Darxet smirked.

"Bet you feel right at home here, don't you, Xigbar?"

This earned him a vicious slap on the head from a very PO'd Freeshooter.

"One more crack like that and I'm gonna make you wish the Heartless finished you off." the pony-tailed elder threatened.

"'Kay. Get the hearts. Get it done. Get home." Darxet smiled.

Xigbar sighed. This was going to be an eventful partnership.

* * *

Lexaeus and Xion sat back in the relatively quiet Traverse Town. Their mission had been, to say the least, unusual. Have Syaxsal and Xylle interact more with each other.

With no Heartless to kill, and no recon to be done, the four Nobodies were just relaxing for the time being. It had taken Syaxsal a bit of coaxing, but she was now talking rather comfortably with the normally stone-faced Xylle.

"I've been blind ever since I was younger...the rest of the chemical burns have been healed but...the damage to my sight was done." Syaxsal explained shyly. She touched the white blindfold she always wore somewhat self-consciously. Xylle noticed this and placed her hand on top of Syaxsal's gently easing it down. The gesture was made slightly awkward due to the fact Xylle didn't really interact with others, but the intent was still good.

"...Don't worry about it." Xylle said, "It's...well, it's...it's who you are."

Syaxsal's expression changed from worried to comforted in a moment. She rubbed a hand along the length of the white cotton fold and went quiet for a while. Xylle did likewise. Silence passed through the course of five minutes as everyone looked separate ways, slightly unsure of what to do now.

"...Mission accomplished?" Xion asked Lexaeus uncertainly.

"I guess so." the huge man replied. "Though honestly, I don't know."

* * *

Zexion and Xisel sat on top of the clock tower in London, England, Neverland. Their mission had been simplicity itself: steal the cursed treasure of the Jolly Roger for examination. Xisel and her puppets created the perfect distraction for Zexion to go in and grab the gold, as Hook was so hopelessly intrigued by 'magic talking puppets'.

Inwardly, Zexion scoffed. Some pirate captain. That man was a complete idiot.

"S-So...what now, master Zexion?" Xisel asked him timidly.

Zexion sighed. There were many things he didn't understand about his protege, one of them being her talking puppets, but the thing he didn't understand the most was her insistence in calling everyone above her "Master." She only really needed to call Xemnas that. It made conversation between the two partners if Xisel constantly used that word of high honor and respect on him.

"Xisel, please just call me Zexion. I don't particularly like honor titles." the illusionist said.

"Oh...I-I'm sorry M—Zexion." Xisel said, turning away.

Silence passed for a few minutes until Zexion noticed Xisel was adjusting the hair on her female doll, Alice.

"Why do you use your ventriloquism on the others yet talk so easily with me?" he asked, utterly curious.

"T-The others...t-they don't...don't...it's just e-easier to t-talk to you..." Xisel said. Zexion noticed how flustered this seemed to make her, so he decided not to press the issue.

"Well, I believe we've spent enough time here." he said after another seven minutes of awkward silence. "Come, let's RTC."

* * *

"Is that the last of them?" a very annoyed Luxord asked a certain creepy purple cat.

"It may be, but it may not be. I don't know, but maybe I do..." the Cheshire cat said cryptically. It faded, leaving behind its trademark grin.

"There are only four Concertos that appear per visit here, according to the mission notes. We just killed the last one. So we're done." Cavex said. She had, as well, been annoyed beyond belief by the mysterious Cat, and just wanted to go home.

Luxord looked at her in surprise.

"That was the longest thing you've ever said." he commented as they walked back to the portal.

"Yes, well," Cavex sighed, "that Cat is such a pain sometimes."

Luxord chuckled.

"Yes, that's why I hate this world so much. That annoying Cheshire Cat."

* * *

"Oh Kingdom Hearts, concert!" Demyx exclaimed.

He and Leixym had arrived in the city just in time for the fish-orchestra to start playing. Demyx floated, entranced, as the beautiful red-haired mermaid Ariel swam out to the stage. Leixym rolled her eyes, then shot an unseen glare at Ariel.

As Demyx got lost in his crazy dreams about getting up onto the stage and dancing with Ariel, Leixym looked around and saw a souvenir shack.

_What the hell? How do they do this?_ She wondered vaguely before swimming over. She had officially mastered underwater swimming, and made the journey to the shack with ease and grace. The unfortunate kind that attracted those stupid sea-boys...

* * *

"Amen, get behind it!" Xaldin shouted at the blue-haired teen. His lances were whirling around him in an arc, preparing the final attack on the Bully-Dog.

Amenxtthe swiftly took up position behind the Heartless, her sapphire-topped staff held at the ready.

Suddenly, Xaldin unleashed a blast of wind strong enough to rattle the ballroom straight down to its tile, blowing the Heartless backwards into Amenxtthe.

Thinking fast, the teen jumped an unnatural height and stabbed the pointed base of her weapon through the creature's head, sending it into the quiet reaches of oblivion.

Belxeo flew down from his position above the scene and perched on Amenxtthe's shoulder, staring intently at the spot where the Dog had been a moment before.

"Well done, Amenxtthe. Not bad for your first field mission." Xaldin said.

Amenxtthe looked up with a tired smile.

"First's always the hardest...can we RTC now?" she asked.

"Of course." the Lancer said. He lifted his hand and opened a portal, back to the Castle. The three went through, leaving behind the strains of a first mission in the ballroom of the Beast's Castle.

* * *

"There you go, Axille! Awesome job!" Roxas cheered as the girl he had been teaching took out another Neoshadow.

Axille dropped to the ground again, looking around for the next enemy. She saw it out of the corner of her eye; a Shadow was coming out of the ground.

She turned and brought her mask down on the advancing creature, killing it in an instant.

She held her shoulders tensely as she waited with strained nerves. They had been fighting for four hours, and the exertion was murder on the girl's frail limbs and small body.

Roxas laughed.

"It's alright, Axille. You got them all. Nice work." he said.

He crouched down next to Axille, who had by now returned her mask to the darkness.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked her.

Axille gave him a long, serious look, and replied, "I want to go home."

Roxas patted her shoulder and got up, taking her small hand in his as they approached the dark corridor.

"Then your wish is my command." the blond keybearer said.

* * *

Knexedy was screaming her head off and running in circles, trying to go anywhere, anywhere, but towards the giant spider Heartless that was trying to eat her alive. Explosions were popping up all over the place, and it was all Vexen could do to not get singed. However, the scientist was getting annoyed.

"Knexedy, just aim an explosion towards it and kill it already!" he shouted at her. Knexedy didn't listen.

She just continued running, oblivious to the fact Vexen was fast becoming the spider's priority. The Academic, deciding he was on his own, started beating the spider upside the grotesque head with his shield. This only succeeded in making it even angrier, and Vexen soon found himself being pointed towards a mouth full of black teeth and a...tongue of some sort.

Rigid with fear, Vexen shot a last shout of utter impatience at his hopeless protege.

"CURSE YOU AND YOUR USELESS FEAR OF SPIDERS!"

Knexedy, upon hearing the "spiders," screamed even louder and the mother of all explosions started up, right underneath their target.

In a rain of fire, smoke, ashes, and disgusting spider insides, Vexen was blown clear and landed on top of a tombstone. He lay there, breathing hard, trying to recover from the fact he had quite nearly been eaten alive. No wonder Knexedy didn't like spiders...

"Vexen! I did it! I did it! I killed the spider!" the girl exclaimed.

"Yes, Yes, you did. Thank you..?" Vexen said. He looked ready to say more, until something from the hurricane of spider parts landed on top of his head. He twitched in repulsion and lifted it gingerly off of his head, and identified it as a piece of the spider's tongue-like muscle. Whatever it was, Vexen just fell off of the grave in a dead faint.

Knexedy shook her head. Something glittery caught her eye and she walked over.

"Ooh, cool!" she exclaimed. It was one of the spider's smaller, poison-dripping fangs. She tore off a piece of her sleeve and carefully wrapped the leather around the fang. When it was secured, she went back to get Vexen, and ended up dragging her mentor through a dark portal to the castle.

"Geez, and I'm the spaz?" she asked his unconscious form, "At least I don't freak out when a spider tongue falls on my head."

Had Vexen been awake, Knexedy would have been slapped silly.

* * *

Xigbar and Darxet fled through the streets of Port Royal, a very angry mob on their heels.

"You idiot!" Darxet snarled as the two took shelter behind a crate, "I told you that old lady wasn't a Heartless!"

"Well I didn't know!" Xigbar shot back, "She's wearing black, doesn't carry a weapon, and has a misshapen head, she's a Heartless."

"That was a hat, smart guy!" Darxet said.

"Alright! Alright! I was wrong! You were right and I was wrong! Let's just RTC and worry about my one-sided blindness issues later." Xigbar sighed.

He summoned a portal and the two went through it, discouraged by their failed mission.

"Superior's gonna kill us." Darxet said in a melancholy tone.

Xigbar sighed sympathetically and laid a hand on his shoulder, "No he won't. He has that whole 'no killing the neophytes' policy and all. You'll probably just get chores or something."

Darxet groaned. "Fun."

The darkness swallowed the two up, and the portal disappeared. No Nobodies there.

* * *

"Phil! Enough!" Xiyak shouted after three hours of relentless training underneath the persistent satyr.

"C'mon kid! Just break these pots!" Phil exclaimed.

"No! I've got to go home!" Xiyak replied, putting away her weapon.

"Ah, fine. Just make sure you get back soon, we ain't nearly close to done." Phil said.

"Fine..." Xiyak sighed.

As she turned to leave, Phil suddenly grabbed her wrist and she turned back.

"What?" she asked.

Phil's face was serious as he said, "Kid, two words of advice for ya."

Xiyak rolled her eyes. Here we go.

"Eat."

_1_

"Sleep."

_2_

"Train."

_3. Get a math book, genius._

"You got that? Phil asked her.

Xiyak nodded.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good." the weird man said. Then he turned and ran back into the arena.

Xiyak looked around to see Larxene holding her sides and laughing.

"I hate you so much." Xiyak snarled.

"Whatever. I got what we needed while you and the satyr trained. Let's just RTC." Larxene smirked.

They went through the portal together, Xiyak giving Larxene a playful but hard punch in the arm as the Grey Area materialized around them and they left the corridor.

* * *

Axbrem was getting annoyed fast.

"HOLD STILL, ALREADY!" she shouted at Axel, who had three sharp quills stuck in his side from the feathery—and prickly—Heartless that had escaped.

"Fine." the Flurry sighed, "Just be careful when you—OW OUCH! Easy!"

"Oh, man up." Axbrem hissed as she took a hold on the quill again and tried to extricate it from her partner's side.

"OW!" Axel shouted as he felt his skin being tugged and blood being lost.. "Okay, that's—OW!—enough! We'll just have to get Vexen to fix it."

"And the mission?" Axbrem asked, retreating.

Axel sighed.

"Failure."

Axbrem's lip curled in dissatisfaction.

"Fantastic." she said, her voice simply dripping with sarcasm.

As the two went through their portal, Axel raised a question with Axbrem; a question completely out of nowhere.

"Kyrox and Anix had a mission with Xemnas and Saix, right?"

Axbrem looked at him strangely.

"Yeah?"

"How do you think they're doing?"

"Who?"

"Kyrox and Anix."

"Oh, uh...I don't know. Hope they're okay, though."

The dark portal swallowed the two Nobodies up, their heads now filled with anxieties over their friends.

* * *

The Avalanche Heartless flew by overhead, giving a loud shriek of irritation as it once again missed its targets by mere inches.

Anix ducked as it came at him again, and he rolled on the ground until he bumped into Kyrox, who was taking a very brief reprieve in the shadow of the hill they had been fighting on. Xemnas and Saix had long since left them there, convinced they wouldn't need any assistance.

"I'm out of potions." the Superior's apprentice said, "You got any?"

Anix checked.

"No, sorry man. That thing's going to kill us."

"Wait...I had an idea. It's crazy. It's stupid. But it might work..." Kyrox said.

Anix's eyes widened.

"You sure? You never go to crazy and stupid."

"We don't have a choice."

"True. So, the idea?"

Kyrox bent over and whispered it hastily into Anix's ear. Anix's eyes lit up as Kyrox pulled away.

"You're right. That is crazy and stupid. Let's try it." the former Valley of the Forge resident said.

They waited as the Avalanche made another vain dive towards them, then when it had passed, Anix rolled out of the hill's way and stuck his arms into the air, waving them around like a maniac.

"Hey ugly! Down here!" the normally unfazed teenager exclaimed. This, obviously, attracted the Heartless' attention and Anix backed up as it prepared for another dive. Quite possible, the dive that would kill him.

Kyrox if you kill me over this brain-dead plan, I'm killing you in the afterlife. Again., he vowed.

The Heartless dived. In a flash, Anix had his scimitar, the Sonic Blade, out and he summoned his element about him. Kyrox had taken up position on the other side of the hill, his Prometheus scythe out and ready.

Anix watched the Avalanche descend faster and faster, its screeching was in his head now, colliding with the sound-waves that had become pent up within the teen's own person. The overload of sound was becoming unbearable. He was sure he would explode if he didn't release it all soon...

"Now, Anix, now!" he heard the shout.

He pointed the Sonic Blade at the Avalanche and released the noise that had built up inside.

Needless to say, it had the effect of a full-blown sonicboom. The giant flying Heartless fell backwards and was even dazed so much it fell out of the sky, straight towards Kyrox.

Kyrox shot a hissing stream of blue fire at the falling enemy and the Avalanche gave a last scream as it was engulfed in raging fire. It disappeared, and a large heart escalated into the sky. Despite his usually calm nature, Kyrox cheered.

"Anix! Anix, it's gone! We did it!" he said excitedly. He looked over and the smile instantly faded from his face.

He ran over to where his friend was now kneeling on the ground, holding his hands to his head—more specifically, his ears.

"Anix?" Kyrox asked. Anix flinched and pressed his hands down further, shaking his head. Kyrox was terrified when he saw a droplet of red liquid squeeze out from between the gaps in his friend's fingers.

"Anix..." he whispered, "Don't worry. I'll get you home. Just hold on, Anix."

Without waiting another moment, Kyrox opened a dark portal in the ground beneath them, too worried about what might happen if he risked moving Anix in this state.

"Hold on, Anix."

* * *

"...the Clay Armor sucked. I was expecting something more fun." Xavier was complaining to Leixym and Axbrem about how disappointing her mission had been.

"You think your mission was annoying? Demyx went all ga-ga over that Ariel princess from Atlantica when she got up and started singing and dancing and making a fool of herself in front of the entire undersea. Then these annoying dudes swam up and tried to ask me to dance." Leixym said.

"What'd you do?" Axbrem questioned.

Leixym smiled and held up fourteen shark's-tooth necklaces, "I slapped them and made them buy me these necklaces. Lookit! There's one for everyone!"

"Aw, sweet, thanks!" the gathered neophytes exclaimed as Leixym started passing them out.

She frowned at the two necklaces left in her hand.

"Hey wait a minute...where're Kyrox and Anix?" she asked.

"I need a medic! Someone, a medic!" a hoarse voice called into the Area. Everyone was startled when a dark portal appeared and Kyrox fell out, pulling with him an unconscious Anix.

"Vexen! Knexedy! Cavex! Someone, get someone!" Kyrox said again.

"What happened to Nixy and Ky-ky?" Axille asked, using the nicknames she had fashioned for her two older friends.

"Nixy was hurt bad on a mission, Axille." Kyrox said quickly. He looked up as Cavex appeared with Vexen.

"Move over." the Academic said. He crouched down beside the teenager and beckoned Cavex over.

"Cavex, try it." he said.

Cavex nodded and pulled up her sleeve. Everyone present stared at the device attached to her wrist. For there, around her arm, was a metal gauntlet that read in engraved lettering: Life Code X. She pressed a button on it and a small blue vial popped out of a small hole in the base.

She uncorked the vial and held it to Anix's mouth. It went down his throat relatively easily, but he didn't stir.

"Cavex...?" Xiyak asked her, "What was that?"

"Life Code X-176." Cavex explained, "It's supposed to clear out injuries and maladies caused by sound or sound injury. I figured that was what was wrong, because his ears were bleeding and Kyrox was talking so quietly. And also, Anix's element is sound. So I put it all together and figured out the immediate problem."

"Is it going to work?" Kyrox asked her anxiously.

"It should. It depends on how bad the damage was." Cavex murmured. She sat back and watched Anix's still unmoving form.

Amenxtthe sat down beside Cavex, voicing the question everyone was dying to ask.

"What now?"

Cavex looked at her for a long time and sighed.

"We wait."


	6. A Tense Recovery

_Original AN: _**Surprise! I did Chapter 6 on my dad's computer! I'm cut off from****_my_**** computer, but I refuse to let that deter me!**

**You'll probably notice that this chapter centers on only a few characters, but that's because I didn't want too many people ruining the kind of "theme" in this chapter.**

**I also wrote this kind of fast (in six hours) so it might be a little less...stellar? from what I normally try. ^_^" sorry.**

**Well, yeah. Enjoy Chapter 6!**

* * *

The air was tense at the Castle That Never Was.

Anix's recovery was going slowly and at most times, unsteadily. The teen often slipped in and out of consciousness, and in those brief moments when he was awake, he was quiet and subdued, often with pounding headaches. The only thing that kept from disappearing completely into a coma or worse, was the Life Code X-176. If Anix went completely comatose...it would be nearly impossible to save him.

His friends visited him often and helped him in any way they could. To an outsider, the fuss wouldn't be too great, if Anix was kept in a quiet space.

"That's not it, though," Vexen explained to Xemnas and Saix when the two superior Nobodies came by, "the sound-waves he was already producing, coupled with the Avalanche's high-pitched frequencies, made an ultrasonic blast that would have deafened anyone else. The shockwave of a blast like that not only damaged his hearing, but caused a concussion as well. The overload of that kind of trauma could have quite possibly killed anyone else. For now we will be sustaining him on Life Code until he wakes up again. There is not much else we can do."

This did not please either Superiors, but nonetheless they withdrew all scheduled missions for Anix, Kyrox, and Cavex, for she would be helping while Vexen worked on a more permanent cure in the basement laboratory.

When the rest of the Organization had been given the news, the heavy atmosphere that had already claimed the Castle noticeably thickened, particularly among the neophytes.

* * *

"Leixym, Axille, Kyrox, Anix needs to rest." Cavex said to the three Nobodies. They had taken up positions beside Anix's bed and refused to leave, even after Anix had fallen asleep again.

"Aww...fine." Leixym whined, getting off of her chair, "C'mon, Seal, let's go do something."

Axille looked up at the use of her nickname 'Seal.' She wasn't endeared to it, but she didn't mind very much.

"M'kay, Ly; c'mon, Ky-ky, let's let Nixy sleep." the young mimic said, pulling on Kyrox's sleeve gently for emphasis.

"Hm? Oh, okay, Axille." Kyrox said distractedly as he let himself be led away from his friend's side.

Axille looked at him searchingly before saying, "Ky-ky's not feeling well. Are you okay?"

Kyrox shook his head and looked tiredly down at the kid.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." he said. He knew the child wouldn't understand, she _was_ only eight after all.

Axille was unconvinced. More urgently, she pulled on his sleeve, putting on a serious face.

"No, Ky-ky's not fine. What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm _fine, _Axille. Go play with Ly or something." Kyrox said, pushing the kid towards Leixym.

Leixym grinned as Axille came to walk by her.

"Aw, don't worry about Kyrox, Seal." she said, "He's just worried about Anix, is all."

When he was left alone, Kyrox looked back at the mostly empty hospital ward and sighed dejectedly.

"It's all my fault, Anix..."

* * *

"Hey," Axbrem said as she saw Leixym and Axille enter the Grey Area, "how's Anix?"

"Still sleeping." Leixym answered.

"Oh...how's Kyrox?" Axbrem asked.

"Ky-ky's worried!" Axille said, "He looked all sad when we left him by the hospital ward."

"Well I'd be sad too." Xavier, who had been listening, said, "I mean, if my best friend was slipping between a coma and consciousness, I'd be worried too."

"But he looked sadder than that." Axille insisted.

Leixym put on a smile and ruffled Axille's hair, enticing a growl of protest from the mimic. Only Roxas, Axel, Xigbar, and Demyx were allowed to mess with her hair!

"Don't worry, Seal, Kyrox's just being a worrywart." Leixym said.

* * *

Cavex looked over at Anix as he stirred in his sleep. She waited, but he settled back into slumber soon enough. Disappointed and still worried the healer Nobody pulled up her sleeve and checked her Life Code.

"Almost out...I had best go visit Vexen and ask for more..." she murmured worriedly. She looked over at Anix again and an anxious expression crossed her face.

"I'll be back soon, Anix." she promised.

* * *

"Here are your mission assignments." Saix said, handing the papers out to the gathered neophytes, excluding Anix, Cavex, and Kyrox.

The second-in-command was shot many a cold glare as he turned around to answer an inquiry from Xylle. Taking the chance, Axille transfigured herself to have straight, bluish-brown hair and cold yellow eyes, turning into a near-perfect clone of Saix. She turned around to the other neophytes and mimed handing out papers with the most ridiculous expression on her face. This little act of perfect mockery caused the members to explode into fits of stifled giggles, held back only by bitten leather and papers.

"Yes, Xylle, that's the—NUMBER XV, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Saix exploded as he turned around to see the kid miming him.

Blushing, Axille turned back and fled behind Darxet with a squeaky "Nothing!"

Saix's eye twitched and was interrupted from throttling the kid by Vexen, who had appeared in a puff of dark smoke.

"Oh good, you're still here." the Academic said, completely ignoring the furious glares Saix was shooting Axille.

"Yes, Vexen, what can we help you with?" Xylle asked.

"We are running low on Life Code X-176, and we need you neophytes to gather the components for it." Vexen explained.

"Wait...without the Code, how is Anix going to stay...awake?" Xisel's trusty doll, Alice, asked.

"He won't if we don't make more of the Code quickly. Here, I have marked out different worlds that you have to visit, as long as lists of what we need. I would ask your mentors to go with you, but all of them are busy with missions as well." Vexen said, handing out the new papers.

The neophytes took their new missions quietly, still worried.

"Wait...Vexy, where's my mission?" Axille asked after all of the papers had been handed out.

Vexen looked at her briefly before replying, "You are too young to attempt any of these missions, Axille. And as Roxas is away, there is no one who is not busy who can accompany you."

"What? I can handle it!" Axille exclaimed, "I'm not too young!"

"You're eight." Vexen reminded her, "That is too young in my opinion."

"But—"

"Make yourself useful and help Vexen and Cavex." Saix said coldly, "And don't question what your superiors tell you."

"Hey!" Xavier exclaimed, "Back off! She was only defending herself!"

Saix glared at her before turning back to Axille, his yellow eyes blazing.

"Get down to the lab and help out but don't just sit around and do nothing." he growled at her, obviously still annoyed after she was mocking him.

Axille glared at him before lowering her voice and hissing, "Accidenti a te..."

"What?" Saix demanded.

Axille just turned around to follow Vexen downstairs, "I didn't say anything."

* * *

"Ky-ky! Ky-ky, is Nixy okay?" Axille asked, running into the hospital ward.

Kyrox held a finger to his lips and nodded towards Anix. His breathing had gotten shallower and Axille noticed he was hooked up to an I.V., now being too weak to sit up and eat or drink anything. The sight of him so still and quiet unnerved Axille deeply.

"Ky-ky, is he okay? He's going to be okay, right?" she asked her older friend.

"He'll be fine, Axille. You'll see." Kyrox answered, though he sounded rather unsure himself. "By the way, shouldn't you be helping Cavex and Vexen?"

"No," Axille said, "I wasn't really doing anything 'cause they were doing it all. Then Cavvy told me to come up and keep you and Nixy company." She sat down on the floor beside Kyrox's chair and looked up at him, her honey-brown eyes searching.

"Is it okay if I sit with you?" she asked.

Kyrox blinked and nodded, "Of course, Axille."

Silence took over the ward then, broken only by the quiet, unsteady breathing of Anix. Kyrox held his head in his hands and Axille couldn't fathom why. What she did understand, though, was the fact that Kyrox needed some quiet time to think.

* * *

Vexen was busy pouring an explosive-looking mixture into a beaker full of water when Knexedy burst into the lab, the first of the neophytes to return from her mission.

"Vexen!" she shouted, unwittingly causing the mixture the Academic had been creating to explode in his face. Knexedy stared in surprise as Vexen froze (no pun intended) and turned to her, his face dusted black from soot and smoke.

"...That was an accident." Knexedy said. "Anyways, I got the stuff you needed from my world."

At this, she placed a small bottle of a bluish liquid on the table. She waved the older Nobody goodbye and ran out the lab, heading upstairs to the hospital ward.

Annoyed, Vexen picked up the bottle his protégé had left behind. He called Cavex over from where she was working and handed the vial to her.

"Here's the first component, but the others aren't even back yet. Are we going to have enough time?" he asked her.

Cavex took the vial and turned on her Life Code X. She pressed a button and the familiar bottle of Life Code X-176 popped out. It was dangerously low, with only a few drops of the medicine left at the bottom.

"I hope so." Cavex said.

* * *

"Sound's a dangerous thing..." Knexedy murmured to Kyrox and Axille when she had met them in the ward, "I have to keep some noise-cancelling ear plugs in whenever I go into battle 'cause I blow so many things up all the time."

"Yeah...I don't know why we never gave Anix a thought about noise-cancelling earplugs. They seem like such a good idea." Kyrox whispered back.

Axille was still watching Anix. She tilted her head to the side and watched him intently. Something was wrong.

"Ky-ky? Knexedy? There's something wrong with Anix..."

* * *

Kyrox burst into Vexen's lab three minutes later, shouting.

"Vexen! Vexen, Cavex come quick! Anix is going into a coma!" he yelled, not noticing the other neophytes who had finally gotten back from their collecting missions.

Vexen dropped what he was doing and so did Cavex. A horrified look crossed her face and she looked frantically at Vexen, who was turned towards the other neophytes.

"Give me your components. I will have to make it when we get to the ward. Kyrox, Cavex, come with me. The rest of you, stay outside." he said. This rose many protests from the younger Nobodies.

"What?" Axbrem exclaimed. "We need to be with him!"

"It is out of the question. Wait outside the ward." Vexen repeated. He turned back to Kyrox and Cavex and ushered them both into a portal to the hospital wing.

* * *

Kyrox's face was a mask of pure anxiety as Vexen stood by, mixing the Life Code. Axille was clinging tight to his hand, as she had refused to leave, and they were both watching Cavex trying to keep Anix awake.

"Anix...Anix, man, stay awake. Come on, stay awake..." Kyrox murmured as he watched Anix's breathing seem to get slower and slower.

Axille was mimicking him, but in a voice that denoted more fear and uncertainty than Kyrox was showing.

"Nixy...Nixy, man, stay 'wake. C'mon, stay 'wake."

Vexen apparently finished mixing the potion and he held the vial to Anix's mouth. The liquid ran down his throat and they all waited in tense silence as Anix slowly reacted to the Life Code.

Anix took a deep breath and his eyes opened for the first time in five days.

"Anix...!" Kyrox exclaimed, releasing a breath he didn't known he had been holding.

"Kyrox...man, what happened?" Anix asked, "Head hurts...er...have I been sleeping?"

Axille moved towards Anix's bed with Cavex and she smiled for real, for the first time since he had collapsed.

"Uh-huh...asleep for five days! You lazy bum!" the mimic teased.

"Anix, you were mostly unconscious all week. We just barely saved you from going into a complete coma. If that happened...well...let's just be glad you're alright." Cavex said.

Anix laughed softly, and then noticed the saddened, guilty face of his best friend.

"Kyrox, what's eating you?" he asked.

"You...you could have died. You could have died and it's all my fault!" Kyrox exclaimed, "If it wasn't for my stupid idea, you wouldn't have had to go through all of that!"

Anix looked at his friend, surprised, as did Axille and Cavex.

"What? Kyrox, I don't blame you for that. That Avalanche was bound to attack anyways." Anix said.

"But it was my stupid idea to have it target you!" Kyrox insisted.

Anix smiled and let out a low laugh.

"It was going to happen anyways. In case you haven't noticed, I'm _bigger than you._" he laughed.

And it was true. Kyrox was skinnier and not as thickly built as the former blacksmith Anix was.

"But, still...!" Kyrox said.

"It wasn't your fault. Stop beating yourself up over this." Anix answered.

Axille blinked up at Anix before climbing up to sit on his bed. She looked at her friend and asked him, "Nixy's gonna be okay, right?"

Anix smiled, "Yeah, I'm gonna be just fine."

Satisfied, Axille turned to Kyrox, and fixed him with a stare.

"And Ky-ky's gonna stop being a bonehead and stop blaming himself. _Right?_" she questioned him.

Anix and Cavex burst out laughing. Kyrox tried glaring at them but was soon overcome with laughter himself.

"Yes, Axille," he told the tiny mimic, "I'll stop being a bonehead and stop blaming myself."

"Good." Axille nodded to show her approval in his choice.

"Alright!" a voice shouted from the hallway, "I hear laughing so I'm coming in!"

Sure enough, Leixym and the other neophytes ran into the ward and crowded around Anix's bed, welcoming him back.

"Don't scare me like that again, alright?" Axbrem said, playfully punching him on the arm.

Vexen had long since departed the scene. Living with fourteen neophytes was hard enough, but cram them all into one confined space and he was going to kill somebody.

But still...the dark, dreary atmosphere of the Castle had changed drastically within the few minutes he had left the hospital ward.

Maybe the neophytes were a good thing after all.

* * *

**Kind of an...odd way to end the chapter. Oh well.**

**See you next time!**

**-Az.**


	7. Ghosts and Spies, Sneakiness and Lights?

Kyrox and Anix, who was now fully recovered, stood by as their mentors filed through something in the Superior's office.

"Numbers XVII and XXV, it is our wish that you read through some of the Organization members' files and learn a bit more about them. Good leaders always know as much as possible about those under them." Saix told them.

Xemnas came over, holding fourteen folders in his hand. He handed them to the two teenage boys and said, "Here are the neophytes' files. Read them, and commit them to memory. We have exempted you from missions to focus on this."

The boys rolled their eyes at each other when their mentors' backs were turned. They both knew they were excusing them from missions because of the incident on their last one.

Kyrox and Anix each took seven files and watched as their mentors left the room, closing the door behind them. When they were gone, Anix remarked, "They're ordering us to read our friends' personal files? What the heck?"

Kyrox nodded his agreement.

"Yes, it is odd. But," he sighed,"regardless. Orders are orders."

They each took a seat at the Superior's desk and started poking through the files, wondering where to start.

"This is still wrong." Anix declared as they selected the folder labeled "XVIII."

"We are still under orders." Kyrox argued, "Now open up the file and start reading."

They read through the file together, skipping over the parts that seemed too personal and only skimming the basics. They were about to put it away when something on the bottom most paragraph caught Anix's eye.

"Hey Kyrox, look at this."

* * *

Xigbar was getting exasperated.

"Demyx, no. No. Nuh-uh, not gonna happen. Sorry, kiddo." he said to the pouting sitarist.

"C'mon, Xig! Please?" Demyx begged for the umpteenth time.

"No!"

"Pleeeeeease?"

"Why should I? I don't owe you anything."

Demyx stopped and thought this over.

"Then how's about you don't do it for me. How's about you do it for the newbies?" he asked slyly.

Xigbar froze and cursed the blond musician.

"Fine, whatever." he hissed.

Demyx smiled broadly and exclaimed, "Alright!"

"Don't get overexcited," Xigbar warned, "what do I have to do again?"

"Just go talk to the Superior and ask him! C'mon, he's more likely to listen to you than me." Demyx said.

Xigbar sighed. "Fine."

"Yay! Hey Xigbar," Demyx said as they walked down the hall together, "you're not going soft, are ya?"

"I can still say no, y'know."

"Indeed you can...so should I shut up now?"

"That's the smartest thing you've said since you joined."

* * *

Xiyak and Xavier were arriving back at the castle after a long, trying mission in the Jungle

"That leopard nearly killed us." Xavier was saying, "What're those idiots trying to do, have us—what the heck?!"

They both stopped and stared at the hustle and bustle that was going in the usually peaceful and quiet Castle. Everywhere, Organization members were pinning up black and orange decorations and hanging up weird and creepy banners and things of that sort. Ghosts on strings, spiders on the windowsills, black cat figurines every few yards.

"Roxas!" Xiyak said as the keybearer went by, "What's going on?"

Roxas stopped and adjusted the fake cobwebs he was holding to explain. "We're having a Halloween party."

"Hallow—what?" Xiyak asked.

Roxas shifted the cobwebs again and explained.

"Halloween. It's a celebration that humans have every year on October 31st. They hang up creepy stuff and dress up in costumes and go Trick-or-Treating. They also put candles in cut-up pumpkins and put 'em outside."

Xavier stared.

"Trick-or-Treating?" she asked.

"Who in their right minds would set pumpkins on fire?" Xiyak asked irritably, "They'd just burn down the house."

"Axel or Axbrem would do it." Xavier pointed out, taking her attention away from Roxas for a moment.

"True, true.."

"Trick-or-Treating is when people go out in their neighborhood in costumes and go knock on doors and stuff. When the door opens the kids usually yell 'Trick or Treat!' and they get candy in return." Roxas said, cutting across their conversation. He stopped, then added, "Of course, sometimes the people they're asking candy from aren't there. So they'll leave bowls of it out for the kids to take from."

"So you break in to random houses or rob bowls on the sidewalk for candy?" Xiyak asked, "Humans are even weirder than I thought."

Roxas shrugged.

"I don't know, it sounds fun to me."

"Roxas!" they heard Axel shout from the next room over, "Where are you and those stupid cobwebs?!"

"Coming Axel!" Roxas shouted back. He turned and said goodbye to the girls.

"Go help someone with something, would you? It's supposed to be a really special occasion." he said.

When he was gone, Xavier looked around.

"I guess I'll go find Marluxia then.." she said.

"Or...?" Xiyak asked.

"We pretend we didn't hear him and go watch TV in my room?" Xavier finished.

"Bingo." Xiyak smirked.

* * *

"Remind me again why we're celebrating a holiday Nobodies don't even celebrate?" Vexen asked Xigbar and Anix as he worked on a holographic projector for use at the party.

"Can't tell you." the two Nobodies said simultaneously. Anix and Xigbar looked at each other in surprise, and Vexen did too. They were locked in a three-way stare down until Xigbar ventured the question on all their minds.

"What's your reason for doing this, Anix?" he asked.

"What's yours?" Anix countered.

"I'd like to know both of yours!" Vexen said. He pulled back from the projector and switched it on, casting a horrific spectral image of a ghost into the room. Satisfied, he switched it back off and turned fully to the other two in the room.

"Can't tell you mine. It's hush-hush." Anix said, crossing his arms.

"Really? Well what's so hush-hush you can't share it with your comrades?" Xigbar asked.

"You'll find out soon enough. So, what's your ulterior-motive for asking for a Halloween?" Anix asked.

Xigbar looked away and stood up as Axel appeared in the doorway.

"Oh goodie, you're all here." the pyro said, "Meeting with the Organization, Kyrox, and Anix right now. Let's move it."

"Wait, why just us? Why not the others?" Vexen asked.

Axel shrugged.

"Don't ask me. Ask Superior."

Sighing, the Academic, the Freeshooter, and the blacksmith followed Axel through a dark corridor to the Round Room.

* * *

"Hmm..." Leixym commented to Axbrem and Axille as they watched Demyx, Axel, and Roxas leave. Axel, to go get Xigbar, Anix, and Vexen for something, and the other two to go to a meeting. "Now I wonder what they're up to?"

"Does it matter?" Axbrem asked.

"If we're not included, it's something important. 'sides, why would Anix and Kyrox get to go but not us?" Leixym questioned.

"They prob'ly don't need us there." Axille said fairly.

"You're keen to just let 'em have a secret meeting without us?" Leixym asked her.

"Roxas wasn't suspicious of anything," Axille shrugged, "so I won't worry either."

"Well I'm not letting this go. I say we go eavesdrop!" Leixym said mischievously.

Axbrem sent her a sideways glance.

"Are you really suspicious or are you just bored?"

"Bored. Why else would I elect to listen in on one of Xemnas' 'I Love Kingdom Hearts' speeches?"

"Fair point."

Axille looked at them before making a move to leave the room.

"I won't help out. I've got ahh...decorations to put up." she said.

"C'mon, Seal! Aren't you at least curious?" Leixym asked her as she and Axbrem went off in the other direction. "Fine, go ahead. We'll tell you all about it later."

"By the way, how are you going to eavesdrop on them in the Round Room?" Axille asked, "It's inac...inaccess...we can't get in there without making portals."  
Leixym froze and so did Axbrem.

"Dammit!" Leixym exclaimed.

Axbrem's eyes brightened and she turned to Axille.

"Hey, Seal, you had to go find and bring some decorations to Roxas, right?" she asked.

"Mhm. I found the stuff he wanted, why?"

"Want to go bring them to him now?"

* * *

"Everyone, thank you for coming on such short notice." Xemnas said, beginning the meeting. "I—"

"Roxy!" a voice cut into the room.

Out of nowhere, a dark portal opened up and Axille fell out of it, right onto Roxas' lap. She was clutching a light-up Jack o' Lantern in one hand and an assortment of lights in the other. Her eyes were bright and she was smiling broadly.

"Roxy, there you are! I found the lantern and the lights! You told me to bring 'em to you when I found 'em so here they are!" she exclaimed. Roxas blushed as Xemnas cast a glance his way and Demyx, Axel, and Xigbar started snickering.

"Er, Axille? Not right now, this is sorta important..." the Key of Destiny mumbled.

"What? Oh!" she exclaimed, looking around with wide eyes. "A meeting! I didn't know you had a meeting! Why didn't you say so, I would've waited!"

"Um, Axille, not right now..." Roxas mumbled.

"Forget it, Roxas." Xemnas sighed, "Let's just get this meeting over with."

"As you all know, Halloween is coming up." the Superior said, getting back to the topic, "You might be wondering why we're pulling so much effort into this, when we usually don't get involved with the holidays and celebrations of humans. The reason we chose to do it this year, was because on that day, is one of our newest member's birthday."

"Really? Cool!" Demyx exclaimed, "Whose birthday is it? Tell, tell!"

Looking at him, Axille turned her head skyward and mimicked his voice, "Tell, tell!"

Demyx laughed at her and she smiled, turning her attention back to Xemnas.

"October 31st is number XVIII's birthday. We're going to hold a birthday party for her." Xemnas said. "Now the idea wasn't mine. Nor Saix's. It was Kyrox and Anix's. They believe that it would provide a better—ahem—bond, with the neophytes if we begin celebrating holidays such as this with them."

Axille leaned back on Roxas' chest and began processing this information. Xisel's birthday? How fun!

"Don't alert Xisel that we know. It's meant to be a surprise." Xemnas went on. He sent a sharp glance at Axille and she looked up at him curiously.

"That means you, Axille." he said.

"Aw, Superior, no trust in me?" she asked playfully, her voice once again slipping into that indefinable dialect that sounded vaguely familiar but still faraway.

"Considering you dropped out of nowhere into a meeting, no." Xemnas replied, going along with the child's teasing.

Axille crossed her arms and pouted but nonetheless said, "Sì, Superiore. I won't tell her."

"Good." Xemnas said, nodding. As he went on about something else, Axille sank into Roxas' chest and smiled to herself.

_Doesn't mean I won't tell Ly and Axby, though._

* * *

"Birthday?!"

Axille waited for Leixym to settle down onto her bed before repeating herself. She, Axille, and Axbrem were convened in Leixym's room, where the little mimic was filling them in on details.

"Yep! Birthday. Xi-san's birthday is on Halloween!" she exclaimed.

"Well shoot, no wonder they didn't want us to know!" Axbrem said, "They thought we'd leak it to her!"

"It would've also seemed fishy if all the neophytes but Xisel got to go, wouldn't it?" Leixym asked.

"I guess. Nice job, Axille! By the sound of it, you got into that mission no problem!" Axbrem said, playfully punching the kid on the arm.

Axille glared at her.

"I almost got in trouble with Roxas and the Superior because of you!" she said.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Seal. Forgive me?" Axbrem asked.

Axille glared at her before jumping off the bed.

"Maybe later. I'm going to go help Roxy-chan with decorating. If anyone asks, mum's the word, and you didn't hear it from me, okay?" she asked.

When she left, Leixym turned to a surprised Axbrem and commented something.

"I worry about her. She sounds more and more like the Organization every single day!"


	8. The Halloween That Won't be Forgotten

Organization XIII (the originals) convened in the surprisingly deserted Grey Area later that day, this time _without_ Anix and Kyrox and certainly without Axille falling out of portals in the ceiling.

"Is everyone agreed?" Xemnas asked, looking around.

"Aye!" Xigbar said, "Get Xisel out of the castle, fill in the others, and get to work!"

"...Thank you for repeating everything I just said, Xigbar." Xemnas said, annoyed.

"Anytime. So, who's doing what?"

Zexion cleared his throat.

"I suppose, being Xisel's mentor and all, I should be the one to get her away from the castle." he said.

Xemnas nodded. "Agreed."

"But where're you taking her, Zex?" Roxas asked, "'Cause I was wondering if you could bring Axille along? She might get in the way when we're decorating...Actually, scratch that. She'll get too excited and quite possibly wreck the place."

"And while you're at it, take Leixym too? She put gum in my hair earlier! Gum, I tell you!" Demyx exclaimed, patting his mullet mournfully, "Took me ages to get it out."

Zexion didn't look pleased, but he agreed.

"And Axbrem while you're at it? Without Ly or Seal around she'll only burn us to ashes alone." Axel said off-handedly.

"...Sure...why not? I'll take all the particularly annoying neophytes to Halloween Town and we can go trick-or-treating." Zexion said sarcastically.

"Wonderful, now that that's settled..." Xemnas said. Zexion was flabbergasted.

"What, wait! Superior—!"

"So numbers XV, XVIII, XX, and XXIII will be joining Zexion for a distraction at Halloween Town." Xemnas said. "Roxas, Axel, and Demyx, go ensure they are aware and get them, er...prepared. Costumes or whatever it is humans do. Zexion, go find Xisel and get her ready. The rest of you, find your neophytes and meet in the Hall of Empty Melodies in about thirty minutes."

"Sir, yes sir!"

* * *

Zexion was cradling his head in his hands, dreading the mission that lay before him.

When Xisel walked in, however, he couldn't help but stare in surprise.

"Is something wrong, Zexion?" Alice the doll asked.

"Er...Xisel, are you wearing your hair differently?" the surprised Schemer asked. Xisel's hair had been swept away from her face and was being pinned to the side of her head with a clip, revealing her jade green eyes for the first time since she joined. She was clad in a gothic black and purple dress and adjusted the matching headband she was wearing subconsciously.

"Erm...yes." Oz, who was seated on Xisel's other hand, said, "It's a special occasion, so we're going out differently."

"Ah...I see. That's very—holy Edward Elric, Leixym what are you wearing?!" Zexion exclaimed, looking over Xisel's shoulder at the ocean-wielding fifteen-year-old who had walked in with Demyx.

"Edward Elric is right, Zex!" Leixym exclaimed. She was dressed in a red cloak that covered a black outfit and from the sleeves, Zexion could see the fingertips of pearly white gloves. She had even styled her hair differently; it now framed her face in two sets of bangs and the rest was pulled into a tail behind her head. Her eyes remained unchanged though; they still smiled at him in the usual blood-red color, behind a pair of glasses.

"That's a...detailed costume, Leixym..." Zexion said. "Did you happen to see Axel or Roxas on your way down?"

"Present!" Axel's cheery voice called from the doorway. He and Axbrem appeared, Axbrem in a white angel's coat.

"An angel? Dude, seriously?" Leixym laughed, "Yeah let's make Halloween Opposite Day while we're at it!"

Axbrem smirked and hefted a scythe into the air. It looked real, even the blade was shiny. "Not quite."

"Angel with a scythe...that's a new one." Zexion said.

"Now all we need is Axille and we can get going!" Leixym exclaimed, picking up her candy-collecting bag.

"Here we are!" Roxas shouted from the entrance. He walked into the room with Axille at his side, holding a large, loose sack over her shoulder.

"Seal, what the heck are you wearing?" Axel asked.

"Skater boy." Axille answered, lifting up the coal black hat that covered her head. Her costume comprised of a black and white jacket and black jeans. She was wearing a chain necklace from who-knows-where and it was decorated with a silver Nobody symbol, and she had styled her hair differently so it was spikier and darkened with streaks of black.

"Nice 'do, Seal." Leixym snickered.

"Nice coat, Ly." Axille said brightly.

"One question, where's the board?" Axbrem asked.

"I let her wear..._this_ for the night, but she is _not_ bringing a skateboard to Halloween Town." Roxas said firmly. "Too many ruts and slopes, she could break her neck!"

"You sound like your her brother or something, Roxy." Demyx snickered.

Roxas glared, then added, "Then Superior'd break my neck."

"Can we just go?" Zexion asked, cutting across the conversation.

"Right right. Well c'mon, Reaper Angel and Skater-without-the-wheels Boy. Let's hit that Halloween Town!" Leixym said, practically diving through the portal Zexion had conjured.

"She's going to be bouncing off the walls from here to next Halloween...oh well, such is this holiday. Let's go!" Axbrem exclaimed, jumping through the portal after Leixym.

"Oh no," Zexion groaned, having heard what the fleeing brunette had said. He hurried through the portal, warning, "Leixym, don't touch any candy until I—oh, she found some already!"

"Oops..." Demyx laughed.

"Addio!" Axille said brightly, flashing Roxas, Axel, and Demyx a peace sign before trotting through the portal as well.

"...Bye!" Alice the doll exclaimed.

"See you soon!" Oz piped up. Then they and Xisel were gone as well.

"They gone?" a voice whispered from the hallway. With a deep, relieved sigh, Axel and co. turned around to see Xigbar standing in the doorway, holding a crate of decorations over his shoulder.

"Yep, all gone." Roxas smiled.

"Sweetness." the Freeshooter grinned.

"Let's get our party on."

* * *

Zexion rubbed his forehead in an exasperated fashion.

They hadn't been there ten minutes before the terrible trio, consisting of Axbrem, Leixym, and Axille, had disappeared into the city to wreak havoc and collect candy, leaving the Schemer and his puppeteer protege behind.

"This is going to be a long night..." he sighed, turning to the goth-dressed Marionette.

"What about you? Do you want to go create havoc with them?" he asked. Xisel shook her head no.

Casting some of her magic, she made Alice and Oz float on either side of her head so that her hands were free to hold on to the black bag she was using to collect candy. Not that she needed any, she just figured it would be nice to bring some back for the others.

"Alright then." Zexion sighed, "Let's go."

"Where to?" Alice asked.

Remembering his reason for being there, Zexion thought up a quick idea.

"Let's go for a walk. I have heard that Halloween Town is three times as frightening on its holiday than anywhere else in the worlds." he said.

"O...kay...?"

* * *

"Trick or treat!"

"Wha..?"

**BOOM!**

Leixym ran away from Dr. Finkelstein's lab laughing her head off. Behind her, the po'd mad scientist slammed his door shut, rubbing soot from his beady black eyes as he did.

The teen met up with her friends outside the laboratory grounds, still laughing.

"Ha ha ha! That look on his face was priceless!" Axbrem exclaimed, holding her sides.

"Yeah! Whoever left these pumpkin bombs everywhere are either totally brilliant or completely nuts!" Leixym agreed.

"I'm thinking nuts, bro." Axille said in her adopted skater-boy voice. She had mimicked the voice from some skater boy she saw in Twilight Town and it had become her own for the night.

Leixym playfully pulled her hat down over her face and the girl stumbled backwards, temporarily blinded.

"Trick or treat!" three high-pitched voices behind the group said. Axille lifted up her hat just in time to see a pumpkin bomb hurtling towards her and it exploded in her face with a loud BOOM, blinding her again and causing her to fall backwards onto the ground.

"What the heck?!"

"See ya later!" one of those voices again.

"Hey wait! _Who the fuck are you brats?!_" Axbrem shouted.

The departing, costumed kids turned around and a witch, a devil, and a skeleton mask each greeted the three Nobodies.

The boy in the devil mask lifted it up and said, smirking, "Lock."

The tall witch girl removed her mask and added, "Shock!"

And the dopey-looking skeleton boy took of his own mask and exclaimed, "Barrel!"

Then Lock threw another pumpkin bomb and in the confusion that followed, the three pranksters were gone.

Annoyed, Leixym shouted after them, "Oh, you want a war, brat? Well you got one! Halloween-style prank war it is!"

Axbrem and Axille groaned. When Leixym made a challenge like that, they both knew they were going to be roped into the madness as well.

* * *

Roxas gasped as another apple fell on his stomach.

"Ow! Hey, watch it, will you?" he said to Knexedy, standing above him. The Key of Destiny was currently hooking up a light rig under the table that Knexedy was working at and her constant deposits of apples on his stomach was _not_ helping progress.

"Well sor-ry!" Knexedy exclaimed, dropping another apple but catching it before it fell. "These darned apples won't...stick...to...the sticks! Ew! Caramel got on me!"

She was trying to make caramel apples.

"Ow!" Roxas exclaimed as he shocked himself again, "Ugh, seriously? I usually get shocked by Larxene not electronics!"

Knexedy took a minute from trying to remove the caramel from her hands to look under and study the wiring.

"Ugh, well no wonder. Like, hello? Look at it. It's an _exposed wire,_ genius." she scoffed.

"Alright well if you're so smart, you do it. I'll make the apples." Roxas said, getting up. He saw her work and smirked, "And no duh. You're supposed to put the apples on the sticks first, then put the caramel on them."

"Fine. Trade jobs." Knexedy said, getting down and putting on the gloves Roxas handed her.

"Fine." Roxas replied.

* * *

Anix passed the last of the candy bags to Xiyak, who was dumping the candy into a collection of orange, black, and red colored bowls.

"Okay, Anix, gimme a minute to...Anix, wake up! You're dropping candy into the punch bowl!" Xiyak exclaimed, moving the drooping bag of candy away from the punch bowl underneath it.

"Wha—? Oh, sorry, Xiyak." Anix said, putting the bag down.

"Dude, what's up with you? You've been like, out of it for hours." Xiyak said, picking up the bag again and filling up the last of the bowls.

"I have...? Sorry. I'm just worried, is all." Anix said, crossing his arms with a sigh.

"Worried? What, that Xisel'll get bored running around with Ly, Axbrem, and Seal and come back?" Xiyak grinned.

"No. I haven't seen Kyrox all day." Anix replied.

"Hey, come to think of it, I haven't either." Xiyak said, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Wonder where he could be?"

"He went out." Luxord said as he approached them. "He went to some world called the World of Sand. I doubt he's going to be back soon."

"What?" Anix asked, "Why would he leave?"

"That is beyond me." Luxord sighed. "But he has his reasons, no doubt."

"I guess he can do what he likes." Xiyak said fairly.

"I guess." Anix agreed.

Luxord stayed to help them spread out the candy bowls through the Grey Area and bid them goodbye, leaving to another part of the castle to help.

"Now what?" Xiyak asked.

"I think we need to go help Larxene and Vexen set up lights." Anix said.

* * *

Xigbar and Xylle were working side-by-side on the dining room ceiling, putting up—or down—lights and decorations.

"Sheesh, thank Kingdom Hearts you joined. This woulda been a nightmare to do by myself." Xigbar said to his fellow gravity-defying Nobody.

Xylle just huffed and finished taping up some fake cobwebs.

"Well, I think that's it." Xigbar said after ten minutes of quiet work.

"Indeed." was the somewhat terse reply.

Xigbar snorted. "You're such a buzz kill sometimes."

Xylle just shrugged and walked off of the ceiling, into a dark corridor, and reappeared on the floor below.

"Hey, don't forget, you've gotta go help Xion and Axel next!" Xigbar called after her as she left the room.

Alone on the ceiling, Xigbar looked around, still upside down, admiring his and Xylle's work.

"Not bad. Not bad at—whoa...the room's spinning."

He was hit by a wave of vertigo, having had all the blood rush to his head, and fell off of the ceiling, landing headfirst onto the floor below with a loud _THUNK!_

* * *

Axel and Demyx, on the floor below the dining hall, looked up as a loud _THUNK_ pounded right through the ceiling into the room.

"Xigbar fell off the ceiling again." Axel said matter-of-factly, returning to his decorating job.

Demyx looked up uncertainly.

"Should we...?"

"Help him? Nah, he does it all the time."

* * *

Leixym ducked behind a dark stone wall, a water balloon she had conveniently brought along clutched tightly in her hand. She had smeared dark mud on her cheeks army-style and had her glasses and white gloves in her pocket, preferring to not get either dirty.

Axbrem looked at her with a mixed look of disbelief and exasperation.

"Ly, you look like a nutcase." she said. As she spoke, Axille appeared behind her, dragging along a half-full bag of candy along with her.

"Got some more." she said, tying the bag closed and putting it next to the other ones.

"Look, Ly, in the time you've taken to wage war with those brats, Axille's been trick-or-treating through the entire town and has filled up both yours, mine, and half of her bags full of candy. Ready to go find Zexion yet?" Axbrem asked.

"No. Not until those—ARGH!"

Another pumpkin bomb had fallen out of nowhere, exploding barely an inch away from the top of Leixym's head.

"That's it! Show yourself you punks!" Leixym shouted and she sprang from her hiding place, water bomb at the ready.

"Fine!" they heard Shock's obnoxious voice shout. "Let it go!" there was the sound of a catapult creaking and then...

A colossal pumpkin bomb, about the size of a cow, was hurtling towards them at a very unsafe and dangerous speed. Leixym dropped her water bomb, staring at the projectile as it came closer and closer. The balloon collapsed into an innocent puddle of water at her feet and she turned to Axbrem and Axille, a blank look in her eye.

"Want to run now?" Axbrem hissed.

"Yes. Very much." Leixym replied.

Without further ado, the two girls grabbed their candy bags and ran for it, somehow managing to escape the radius of the exploding pumpkin just before it blinded them all.

**BOOM!**

The three girls (because Axille had been smart enough to push her candy bag into a portal to her room before the pumpkin exploded) fell over each other, panting, when the aftershock of the pumpkin exploding on the pavement was sent through the street.

"How...the heck...do they make...cow-sized pumpkin bombs...anyways?!" Leixym asked, clinging to her bag of candy for support.

"They have all year..." Axbrem said, "I bet they get really bored really fast when it isn't Halloween."

"You're nuts, Ly." Axille sighed, sitting up and crossing her legs once the ground stopped shaking.

"I'm not nuts. I'm determined." Leixym argued.

"Same difference." Axbrem said.

"Whatever."

"Well, it looks and sounds like you girls had fun." a voice behind them said. Looking up, the three girls saw Zexion standing over them with his arms crossed, tapping his foot.

"Hi, Zexy!" Leixym said brightly.

"Why did half of the town square just get blown to bits by a pumpkin the size of a horse?" Zexion asked. Axbrem snickered, then broke into raucous laughter.

Zexion looked at her sideways and added, "And yes. I know how insane that sounds."

"Ly was pranking." Axille said, standing up. "I went trick-or-treating while she did and got us all some candy."

"That still doesn't explain the huge pumpkin." Zexion argued.

"She got into a prank war with a bunch of kids who had a catapult and a huge bomb. She lost." Axbrem said, standing up and hefting her bag up. "Whoa, Seal, you got this thing full to—ack—bursting!"

"I had a lot of time." Axille replied.

Leixym stood up and dusted off her Ed Elric suit. She pulled her glasses and gloves out of her pockets and put them on before picking up her own bag.

"Leixym...wipe that mud off of your face before you go back to the castle. You look ridiculous." Zexion sighed. Xisel appeared then, a bag half-full of candy in her arms. Alice and Oz, still floating around her, were carrying ziplock-bag sized sacks, full of candy as well.

"We're here. Are we ready to leave?" Oz asked.

"Yes. Let's go, before Leixym causes something else to blow up." Zexion sighed. He opened a portal and they began to file through it.

* * *

Xemnas was doing a last-minute checklist of everything that had to get done.

"Decorations?"

"Check." Axel, Demyx, Xylle, Amenxtthe, Saix, Luxord, and Xigbar, now recovered, said.

"Food?"

"Check." Roxas, Xiyak, Lexaeus, Syaxsal, Anix, Cavex, and Xaldin all said.

"Electronic matters?"

"Check." Knexedy, Larxene, Xion, Darxet, Marluxia, Vexen and Xavier replied.

"Good. That's everything. Now, Zexion should be returning soon with Xisel and the others. Everyone, get ready." Xemnas sighed, rolling up his checklist.

In about two minutes, the "Away" team from Halloween Town walked out of the dark portal, Xisel first, and there was a sudden outcry of "Happy Birthday, Xisel!" mainly from the neophytes.

"What—?" the startled puppeteer exclaimed, dropping her bag and consequently causing her puppets to drop their sacks too.

"Happy b-day, Xisel!" Axille said brightly, pushing her out towards their neophyte friends.

* * *

"But I don't understand," Alice said, about ten minutes later, "how did you know?"

"Superiors one and seven told us to read our files and yours was the first we looked through so...ha ha, stroke of luck, huh?" Anix answered as they watched Leixym and Demyx plunging their heads into a cauldron of water with their hands tied behind their backs, bobbing for apples.

"I still don't get humans." Xiyak said, walking over, "Why do they have a game where people almost drown trying to grab apples?"

"Mnf...mnff!" Leixym said from behind a red gala. She had come up first with an apple and Demyx was still floundering around in the cauldron, trying to grab one. The ocean-wielding teen spat her apple out at the back of Demyx's neck and she repeated herself in a clearer voice.

"Dunno! But it's fun!"

At that moment, Demyx came back up. He was gasping for air behind the huge Rome apple he had grabbed and put it on the table before straightening up, glaring at his protege.

"Ow! That hurt!" he pouted as Xigbar cut his ropes loose.

"Oh just eat your apple, sitar-man." Leixym teased.

Huffing, Demyx picked up his apple and drifted away to another corner of the room where Axel, Roxas, and Axille were busy talking.

Darxet staggered over, an empty bottle of _something_ in his hand. But from the smell of it and the look on his face, it wasn't the punch.

"Heeeeey, lookit here!" he gurgled. Yes, he gurgled. "Wha's happenin' wiff you two...?"

"There's four of us..." Xiyak said, looking at him.

"Dude...are you drunk?" Leixym asked, staring.

"Who, me?"

"Oh god!"

"Xigbar! Darxet got himself drunk!" Anix shouted across the room.

"Oh shi—what?!"

"Heeeey! Heeeey ocean-man!" Darxet exclaimed as Xigbar came over.

"Ocean man?" Xigbar asked, stopping.

"Wanna swig a bit, Xiggy?" Darxet asked, handing the empty bottle to Xigbar. "'s not bad when ya get used to it..."

"Yep. You're drunk."

"C'mon, mate...two old sea-dogs like us can has a few drinks, right..?"

"Sea-whats? Wait..." Xigbar smacked Darxet upside the head, "Why in the name of Kingdom Hearts are you dressed like a pirate?!"

"Wanted ta mess with youse..." Darxet groaned, falling to the floor.

"Let's...leave them to it." Xiyak whispered to Leixym, who nodded. The two girls left the scene and Anix behind him. The blacksmith had stayed back to watch the fascinating show of a drunk Darxet arguing with a very sober and very annoyed Xigbar.

Cavex was sitting at one of the couches with Amenxtthe, Syaxsal, Xylle, and Knexedy, all talking amiably. The two arrivals sat down either on the floor or one of the couches and joined in on the conversation, pointing out Darxet's current "condition" with huge smiles.

"I knew it." Knexedy said.

"Xigbar's going to murder him when he's sober again." Xiyak snickered.

"Xylle," Leixym said suddenly, "what are you wearing?"

Xylle looked down at her costume and shrugged.

"Black Rock Shooter." she said.

"Oh, I was wondering why you were dressed like that." Cavex said. She readjusted the purple sleeveless jacket she was wearing and looked up.

"By the way, have you visited the scare zones?" she asked.

"Scare zones?" Leixym asked.

"Yes. A bunch of different rooms in the castle were decorated to be 'scare zones.' Like several mini-haunted houses." Cavex explained.

"Oh yeah, forgot about those!" Knexedy said.

"Hm..." Amenxtthe murmured, "I heard one of them is full of snakes and another is full of ghosts and dead body parts."

"Really? Sounds creepy...let's go do one!" Leixym exclaimed, leaping up. "Hey Cavex, show us where they are?"

"I was on cooking duty. So I don't know." Cavex sighed.

"Oh, I know where they are." Xylle said. "I was on décor, so I can show you where."

"Sweet!"

"Hey, count me in too." Xiyak said.

"Yeah, me too." Axbrem said, standing up.

"I'll do it, too!" Knexedy said.

Leixym gave her a sideways glance and laughed.

"If one's full of spiders, promise me you won't blow us up?" she asked.

"You have my word."

The girls left to go seek out the haunted rooms and as they left, Axel gave Demyx and Roxas a nudge and gestured at the departing neophytes.

"What say you two we go pull a few tricks of our own?" the pyro asked.

"I'm in!" Demyx exclaimed.

"Me too." Roxas grinned.

"What about you, Seal?" Axel asked, turning to the girl.

"Hm...not thanks. I'll hang out here." Axille said.

"Suit yourself. Men, to the haunted rooms!"

Xigbar watched them leave and sighed. He was sitting on the passed-out form of Darxet and couldn't help but smirk at the empty bottle in his hand. He still remembered his first bash. It hadn't been as tame, but hey, this worked fine, too.

* * *

"This is Halloween, everybody make a scene..." Leixym sang as she crept through a creepy post-apocalyptic-themed, warehouse-based room that was formerly one of the Organization's training rooms.

"Pumpkins scream in the dead of night..."

Axbrem and the others had long ago dispersed to different rooms, some electing to stay in groups, and some preferring to go in alone. They had made a bet: the last team to run out of their room screaming in horror wins half of everyone's candy at the end of the day.

The warehouse room had beckoned to Leixym especially, despite all of the false warning signs outside. When she had walked in, she had felt like those little girls in the movies. The ones who went into the creepy old houses with all the warning signs sticking up from stakes in the ground leading up the path to the house.

Unconsciously, she reached into her costume pocket and touched the photo hidden in there. A sad smile crossed her face as she thought of who the photo was of.

"She would have loved this..." she murmured, "I—wait...what was that...?"

There it was again. The weird sensation of something or several somethings skittering across her foot.

"The hell...?"

She took a step backwards and heard something crunch. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what was moving all around her.

Cockroaches. She was standing in a room full of cockroaches.

* * *

"Tch, this place isn't so scary." Axbrem sighed as she and Xavier traveled through their chosen room together. It was a dark forest setting and there was even a fake moon hanging over the trees. Ironically enough, the setting was in Marluxia's greenhouse.

"Yeah. It's just quiet." Xavier said, looking around. "And dark."

Axbrem laughed.

"We live next to the Dark City and on the edge of the Darkness. What did you expect?"

"It to be less dark!" Xavier replied.

"Whatever. C'mon, I see the exit over there." Axbrem said, pointing.

They had barely taken two steps when suddenly, there was a horrible rumbling noise sounding all around them. Out of nowhere, ten-foot-tall hedges shot up throughout the entire greenhouse and right between Xavier and Axbrem, cutting the two girls off from each other.

"Aaah! Axbrem, where are you?!" Xavier shouted.

"Hey, calm down. I'm on the other side of the hedge. Are you okay?" Axbrem asked through the bush.

"Yeah. Just startled, is all." Xavier sighed.

"M'kay, well. I think this is a maze." Axbrem said, walking forward.

"What makes you say that?"

"Oof!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just proved my theory though; I walked into a hedge."

"Oh...well, what now?"

Axbrem took a step back and lit her finger on fire. She was, of course, unharmed.

"Hold on, I'm going to burn the bush." she said.

"Good idea!" Xavier exclaimed.

Taking her finger, Axbrem reached towards the bush and set a leaf on fire. She smirked in victory, until the small hole that was starting to burn was magically filled up again.

"What the?!" she tried again.

"What?" Xavier asked.

"Darned cursed hedges!" Axbrem exclaimed. "Some sort of spell is on them. The holes I'm burning keep growing back and won't stay holes!"

"Oh..."

Axbrem sighed.

"Looks like we're going to have to get out the old fashioned way."

"Screaming until someone gets us?"

"No. We have to get through the maze."

"Fine...see you at the exit." Xavier sighed.

"See you at the exit."

* * *

Xiyak, Cavex, and Amenxtthe walked through their own room uneasily, jumping at every little sound that echoed in the confines of the library. It had been dressed up to be some kind of cursed library, and there was supposedly an undead librarian prowling the aisles, ready to hurt anyone who got too close with either/or a huge book or a stabbing knife.

"I don't like this..." Xiyak said warily.

"Why couldn't we choose the disturbingly cute room full of pink bunnies and white puppies?" Xiyak asked aloud. "I don't want to be stabbed and/or beaten by a crazed librarian..."

"Because it was disturbingly cute." Amenxtthe replied.

"Couldn't have been that bad..."

* * *

At that moment, Knexedy and Xylle ran screaming out of the pink bunny room, mentally scarred.

"THEY'RE EVIL!" they shrieked.

* * *

"Anyways," Cavex said, looking around, "we must find the exit."

"I think it's down this way..." Xiyak said, turning a corner. Almost immediately, she turned back around and ran screaming clear in the other direction.

Watching her go, Amenxtthe shook her head and sighed.

"I thought she would have been able to handle this better."

"Hello little children..." a creepy voice behind them said. Amenxtthe and Cavex froze and turned around.

It was the librarian! Its face was a grotesque mask on which the blood-red eyes were set staring in different directions and the brow was furrowed down and stuck in that position. The mouth twisted upwards on one side into a cruel, sadistic smile, showing off pointed, yellowing teeth framed by rotting black gums. In one scarred, greenish hand, it carried a large book and in the other, a knife.

"Welcome to the library..." the apparition hissed gleefully.

Amenxtthe and Cavex both screamed as it raised its knife and walked towards them. They turned tail and ran for it, back the way they had come.

"Forget the candy! Let's get out of here!" Amenxtthe shouted.

Back at the library, the librarian was staring after the fleeing girls, chuckling. It put down the knife and the book and and put its now freed hands to its head. It lifted off, revealing a laughing sitarist underneath.

"Ba ha ha! Got 'em!" Demyx chortled. He doubled over laughing, tears streaming from his eyes, when he heard a small "ahem" from behind.

He turned around and froze in place, staring at the shadowed figure at the end of the aisle. It was holding a large book and was walking towards him slowly.

"It's _real_?! Holy Kingdom Hearts, it's _real_!" he screamed in terror as he ran out of the library.

Zexion, who had been wearing his hood, pulled it down and replaced the Lexicon he had been carrying back on its shelf, staring after Demyx with a look of confusion on his face.

"Now I wonder what that was all about...?"

* * *

Leixym screamed as she ran through the room. The horrible crunch, crunch, crunch! of stepped-on cockroaches followed her everywhere she went and she just wanted out of this nuthouse!

"_Why_ did it have to be cockroaches?!" she shouted as she ran into yet another wall. The room was very poorly-lit, and vision was difficult.

She jumped when something skittered across her shoulder and she screamed, whipping her sword out from the darkness and turning on whatever was behind her. She started to randomly slap the flat of her blade down on it and she was screaming threats at it.

"Get off me! Whatever you are, get off!" she screamed.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! I give, I give! I'm not a cockroach, got it memorized?!" a familiar voice shouted above her screaming.

"What the—?" for the moment, Leixym stopped hitting the dark figure below her. It got up and she recognized it to be wearing the Organization's cloak.

A spark of fire illuminated in front of her and as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, Leixym realized she was staring into the mischievous green eyes of none other than Axel.

"Axel? What! The! Hell!" she screamed, starting to beat him with her sword again.

"Ow! OW! It was just a prank, Ly!" Axel shouted, backing away from her.

"I'm surrounded by cockroaches you idiot! You snuck up on me! That is not a prank! That is a_ full-on nervous breakdown!_"

"These things aren't cockroaches." Axel snickered. He bent down and let one crawl onto his hand. He brought his little fire over to rest above it and it was proven to be a very small robot, designed to look, act, and sound exactly like a cockroach.

"What the...?"

"Vexen made them. Well, he mass-produced them. I don't know how, but somehow he did it. Have to give him props for it. These things are pretty cool." Axel said, smiling.

Without warning, he grabbed the girl's hand deposited the robotic bug on it, causing her to recoil in fear and disgust.

"Ew! Get it off!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, relax, it won't hurt you. It's not even a bug." Axel said.

"But—"

"Look, I think it likes you." Axel snickered. And indeed, the robot had shuffled up her arm until it was resting on her shoulder, looking for all the world like a little bump in her cloak.

"It's...actually...kind of cute." Leixym said, relaxing.

"That's better. Now c'mon, let's get out of here." Axel said, pointing to where the door was.

"I'm right behind you."

* * *

Axbrem was lost.

She had been wandering around this godforsaken maze for about fifteen minutes, and she was no closer to the exit than if she had been in the Wonderland maze.

"Curse that Marluxia." she hissed as she walked into yet another hedge. The walls were so high that they cut off the fake light of the fake moon that hung over the fake forest and the maze.

"When I get out of here, I'm killing him." she vowed as she turned towards another dead end.

"Wonder how Xavier's doing..."

"Hey, Axbrem, what's up?"

Axbrem looked up, startled. On top of the hedge maze, framed by the fake moon, sat Xavier, who was smiling brightly and watching her with some amusement.

"What the—how the—what are you doing up there?" Axbrem asked her.

"I climbed up the hedge. It's really rough and I found a lot of purchase. Yeah, you can't burn it down, but you're apparently allowed to climb. They aren't roses or anything, just a bunch of leaves and twigs and stuff." Xavier said.

"You just...climbed?" Axbrem asked, dumbstruck. It was so obvious! So simple! But so...unorthodox. It certainly wasn't normal to get out of a hedge maze by _climbing_ out!

"Yep. Here, come over here and I'll help." Xavier said, shifting herself so she was laying over the edge with her arms outstretched. With some hesitation, Axbrem approached and took her friend's hand. Xavier pulled while Axbrem slowly but steadily climbed up the surprisingly durable vegetation. There were a lot of branches in the bushes that Axbrem could hold on to until she was crouching on the top with Xavier.

"The trick here is, you have to either keep your weight even, or move really really fast. These things cave if you don't keep moving or at least keep your weight even." Xavier exclaimed as she took a deep breath.

"We going to just jump our way across this maze?" Axbrem asked disbelievingly.

"Well, I don't know about jumping, but running works fine. You ready?" Xavier asked.

Axbrem took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah."

"On the count of three."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

They got up and started running across the hedges together, moving positions on the heavy-duty plant life just fast enough to avoid being sucked inside of the bushes. The exit was seen about thirty yards away, and the way there, traveling by the wall, was apparent. They ran towards it, clearing the distance in about a minute until they were right on top of the exit of the maze.

"'Kay wait, stop." Xiyak said, dropping into a laying position. She spread out her arms and legs, evening out her weight, and Axbrem did likewise, until they were lying right next to each other on the top of the wall.

"What?" Axbrem asked.

"I thought I heard someone...no wait, look! It's...Roxas?"

Roxas appeared from the greenhouse exit and looked around with a sigh. He walked in, muttering something under his breath, and Axbrem leaned in to hear it.

"Shouldn't have listened to Axel...now I have to go in and find them..."

Axbrem edged forward until she was right over the edge. She took a breath and turned around so she would land feet first. She jumped off of the wall, hitting the soft grass and rolling with the momentum until she hit the other side of the path with a rattling of leaves.

"Yo' Roxas!" she exclaimed. Roxas turned around, saw her, and his eyes went wide. He ran over to her and helped her up off of the ground, a look of confusion on his face.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

He fell forward with a loud "Oompf!" as Xavier jumped off of wall after Axbrem and slammed the Key of Destiny in the back with her feet, sending him into the wall. He fell over with the bush's recoil and landed on top of Xavier, winded.

"What the heck? Xavier, you almost killed me!" he exclaimed, getting up off of her.

"Sor-ry." Xavier said, getting up.

"What were you doing?" Roxas asked as he grimaced and rubbed his back where the teen had kicked him.

"We were running on top of the wall to get out of the maze." Axbrem explained.

"The top of the wall..? That's a new one! Clever!" Roxas said, looking at her.

"Yeah but...why was there this maze here in the first place? I don't remember Marluxia putting it up!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Oh that." Roxas blushed, "Axel asked Marluxia to rig his greenhouse to do it. To mess with whoever decided to go into this scare zone."

"What? Oh that miserable little—!" Axbrem seethed.

"Heh...anyways, let's get back up to the castle. Xisel's getting ready to open her birthday presents, cut the cake, etc. etc." Roxas said, ushering them out.

"Really? Yay!" Xavier said happily.

"Oh wait, hold on. Just remembered something." Roxas said, stopping. The girls turned to look at him.

"What?" Axbrem asked.

"One sec...oh, here they are." Roxas said. From his pocket he pulled out two black roses and handed them out to the girls. "It's the prize for clearing the maze. Good job."

"Sweet!" Xavier said.

* * *

Xisel looked up as Xavier, Roxas, and Axbrem walked in from the greenhouses.

"Hey!" Leixym called, waving them over, "Over here!"

The room had been darkened and sitting in front of the girl of the hour was a large, black and orange-decorated cake. On it were eighteen candles, all lit. Xisel was technically between the ages of 16 and 18, so they had decided to light eighteen candles, in honor of her possible age and her rank within the Organization.

"Go on, Xisel!" Axille exclaimed, dropping her skater-boy accent in her excitement, "Blow them out!"

Xisel took a breath and so did Oz and Alice. Together, the three blew, and each of the eighteen candles puttered out. There was a cheer as the lights were turned back on and everyone crowded around Xisel, congratulating her.

"Yay! Happy birthday, Xisel!" Xiyak exclaimed.

"Yes, happy birthday, Xisel." Zexion smiled. Yes, he actually smiled.

"Thank you." Xisel said, "Thank you everyone. This has been the best birthday I can remember."

"Aw shucks, no problem!" Leixym exclaimed. "Now c'mon, let's cut that cake and open up some presents!"

* * *

The next forty-five minutes was spent with cheerful conversation and much controversy through the younger members on who had survived their haunted room the best. In the end, it was decided that everyone had survived well enough, and so decided to split their candy evenly between everyone.

Darxet, who had calmed down with the aid of some ginger ale and a bit of rest, was chatting with Xisel and Anix, who noticed Darxet was playfully flirting with Xisel. Xisel didn't mind, but Alice the doll was sending him some pretty weird glances.

_Those things have minds of their own,_ Anix thought, shaking his head with a small smile.

He looked around when he heard the oh-so-quiet sounds of a dark portal opening and closing behind him. He turned around and saw, to his great surprise, Kyrox standing there.

"Kyrox? Man,where have you been? You missed an awesome party!" Anix exclaimed.

"Sorry. I had ah...other, business to attend to." Kyrox said, somewhat distantly.

"You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I'm fine."

"Ky-ky, you're back!" Axille exclaimed. Out of nowhere the kid appeared and handed him a slice of the cake, smiling broadly. "Glad you got back, Ky-ky! Xisel's about to open her presents!"

"Really? Then I guess I came back at just the right moment." Kyrox said.

Everyone started drifting towards Xisel again, who by now was sitting next to a large stack of presents from the neophytes and a few of the Organization. Leixym was bouncing on the armrest of her couch in a hyper way, impatient for the presents to be unwrapped.

"Open it! Open it!" she said.

"Alright, alright, calm down." Oz said pacifically. Xisel took the top box and unwrapped it, revealing a new porcelain doll from Xavier.

"I know you collect them, so there you go! I saw it in Traverse Town and thought, why not?" Xavier grinned.

"Thank you, it's very lovely." Alice said as Xisel put the doll down on the table.

She started to open up the rest of the presents. They included, but were not limited to, snake-skin boots from Leixym (I found them in Twilight Town! I thought they would look so cute on you!), a set of books and journals from Zexion (In case you wish to record something.), a black-haired puppet/doll from Axille, Axel, and Roxas (We got it in Hollow Bastion. Hope you like it!), a black and white watch from Luxord (A watch is always useful.), and a variety of other gifts and trinkets.

"Thank you, everyone, these are wonderful gifts." Xisel said, smiling a little, "Thank you for such a wonderful birthday."

"Hey, no problem." Axel spoke up on behalf of everyone present.

"And still!" Demyx exclaimed, "The night's still young! Let's go scare ourselves some more!"

"I'm with you there, Dem!" Darxet exclaimed as he followed Demyx out the door towards one of the scare zones.

Axel turned to Roxas and grinned. "What about you? Still in the mood to get scared?"

Roxas smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

When they had gone, Xisel sat down with the neophytes to discuss the night's events, and the rest of the twenty-eight strong Organization's first Halloween bash passed in happy chatter and trading candy.

Right now, for a bunch of Nobodies, life was pretty darn sweet.


	9. Part I: Heartless in the Castle!

The day after the Halloween bash was a day of rest and recovery for Organization XIII. And pretty much everyone desperately needed it.

Leixym, Axbrem, Xiyak, Xavier, and Knexedy, who had finished the night with a movie called "The Pumpkin Carver" or something like that, were all asleep in the living area, where they had been too tired from the film and the night to get up and go to their rooms.

Axille had passed out in the room she shared with Roxas (being the youngest and Roxas' protege, it had been decided she sleep there) and was still sleeping soundly with Roxas on the floor below his own bed on the other side of the room. He had fallen out of bed at some point in the middle of the night and had been too lethargic to get up again.

Only a few Nobodies were actually _up_ at the time. Xemnas, who was never one to sleep in when there was work to do, Saix, who was never one to risk missing any possible work, Kyrox, who had been absent for the larger part of the night, Zexion, who hated getting up late, and Xigbar, who had woken up early to help Darxet. The teen was in bed with a bad hangover, and Xigbar had no choice but to help him.

"Dude, next time, don't drink!" Xigbar sighed as Darxet fell back on his bed, shaking like a leaf.

Xemnas was sitting in the calm and serenity of the kitchen with a coffee when Saix walked in, looking serious.

"Good morning, Saix." the Superior said.

"Good morning, Superior." Saix replied, sitting down at the table.

"How are the state of things?" Xemnas asked, noting the look on Saix's face.

"Everyone is either asleep, comatose, or in XXVIII's case, hung over." Saix sighed.

"Of course." Xemnas said in a monotone, displeased. "The others I can understand. But a hangover?"

Saix looked up at his Superior and sighed again.

"Yes, Superior. Unfortunately, we will not get any work done today." he said.

At that moment, Zexion walked in, his nose in a book.

"Good morning, Zexion." Xemnas said when the younger Nobody had walked in.

"Hm? Oh, good morning Superior, Saix." Zexion greeted them as he went to make himself a cup of coffee.

Silence passed for a while as Zexion returned his attention to his book, Xemnas finished his coffee, and Saix got lost in something in his head. After about five minutes of calm, peaceful silence, Xigbar walked in, looking annoyed.

"Hey, any of you know where I can find something for nausea?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Yes. Top cabinet, the bottle that says _Pepto-Bismol_. It helps a lot for nausea and vomiting, why do you need some?" Zexion asked, gesturing to the medicine cabinet above the counter.

"Darxet's sick. Didn't you hear he got a hangover from last night?" Xigbar questioned as he went to the cabinet and pulled out the bottle of medicine.

Zexion sighed.

"Well, I hope he recovers quickly." he said.

"He better. Kingdom Hearts knows I'm not dragging his unconscious rear around on our next mission. Anyway, thanks. I best run before he throws up on his bed." Xigbar said, going through a portal to Darxet's room.

Almost as soon as Xigbar left, Kyrox appeared from a corridor and strode over to the table where the others were convened. He took his seat and crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he did. Obviously, he was bored.

"Kyrox, good morning." Zexion said, looking up.

Kyrox nodded in the direction of Zexion's voice, but didn't return the greeting.

"We aren't going to get any work done today, are we?" Kyrox asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No, unfortunately." Saix said.

"That's too bad." Kyrox said, looking up at the ceiling. "I was hoping Anix and I could go practice fighting Heartless."

"Well, I doubt that will be possible today." Xemnas said. "Unless of course we are suddenly besieged by a mob of Heartless."

Kyrox looked at Xemnas with a rare smile, wondering if Xemnas had been joking or sarcastic.

Zexion got up at that moment and put his emptied coffee cup away. He tucked his book underneath his arm and told the others goodbye before he departed for the library.

"I had better leave, too." Kyrox said, standing. "Heartless mob or not, I'm going to go practice."

"In that case, I will accompany you." Saix said, "I have been lacking in my combat practice as well."

"Then let's go." Kyrox said, following Saix through a corridor to the Hall of Empty Melodies.

Xemnas watched them go before putting his own cup away. With a sigh, he got up and went through a portal to his office, looking to do some paperwork and seizing as much of the day as possible.

Unbeknownst to him, however, was the shadowy, black _something_ that had crawled into the kitchen at his departure...

* * *

Knexedy woke up with a long, loud yawn that woke up Xiyak and Axbrem, on the couch beside her.

"Ahh geez, what time is it?" the black-haired teen yawned, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Do we even _have_ time here?" Axbrem asked as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Good point."

"Ugh, did any of us have a mission today?" Xiyak asked as she surveyed her sleeping comrades around her.

"Not according to this thing, we don't." a voice from the floor said. The girls on the couch jumped and looked over at Xavier, who was lying awake, studying a piece of paper.

"Found it on the TV. Apparently, everyone's recovering from the party last night so we have the day off!" she said, passing the note to Axbrem.

"Oh, well that's good news." Xiyak nodded.

"Or not." Axbrem said.

"Why not?" Knexedy asked.

"No work all day, with nothing to do but bum around? I'd rather risk my neck on a Heartless." Axbrem answered.

"Workaholic." Knexedy laughed.

"Man, shut up." Axbrem growled, throwing a pillow from the couch at her head.

"Ha ha—hey, did you hear that?" Xiyak asked suddenly, sitting up straight.

"Hear what?" Axbrem questioned. Then she heard it too.

A low growling sound drifted into the TV room, sounding almost like one of the voice simulators used at the Halloween party.

"I thought Halloween was over?" Knexedy joked, standing up.

"At least the lights are still—"

Then the room went black.

"—on." Axbrem sighed. Three metallic sounds slipped through the air as the girls drew their weapons and stood at the ready. Axbrem's bowstrings glowed with deep fire, somewhat illuminating the room.

"Sudden darkness, growling..." Knexedy muttered to herself.

"What are you doing?" Xiyak hissed as the growling noise grew louder.

"Quiet! After growling, there should be some kind of light source." Knexedy answered. "But I—"

"Found it! Over there, back of the room, farthest back wall. Two glowing eyes." Axbrem hissed, pulling her bowstring back. "Get down!"

She fired, and the room exploded into light as the thing on the wall was dazed. It had a long, reptilian body and an empty lantern as its tail. Knexedy stood behind Axbrem as the archer readied another arrow while the creature was down.

"Illuminator!"

* * *

_Clang!_

Steel met steel as Kyrox parried another swipe from Saix's claymore. The two were sparring in the Hall of Empty Melodies, unaware of the Heartless that had infiltrated the castle.

"Not bad." Saix deadpanned as he dodged another attack from Kyrox's Prometheus scythe, "Superior has taught you well."

Kyrox backed up, his scythe held in a defensive position, "He's taught me enough."

"Enough for now." Saix replied as he took a step back and menaced the younger Nobody with his claymore.

Kyrox darted forward and teleported behind Saix, disappearing and reappearing in a haze of dark smoke. As the Diviner turned to find him, Kyrox unbalanced the blue-haired Nobody and tripped him with one of the heads of his Prometheus scythe, sending him crashing to the floor.

Kyrox stood triumphantly over Saix and held the curving scythe blade to his neck, merely an inch away from cutting the skin.

"Enough for now." Kyrox said as he stepped off and allowed number VII to stand.

Saix stood and brushed off his coat, a mask of total uncaring on his face.

"Very good." he said monotonously.

Kyrox and Saix sent their weapons away when a scream suddenly wrenched the sleepy air of the Castle. From the sound of it, it was coming from one of the living quarters.

Without a word, Kyrox teleported to the floor from whence the scream erupted, Saix behind him.

As soon as they left the darkness, the two drew their weapons and readied for attack.

* * *

Xisel, Syaxsal, and Xylle had adopted rooms close to each other, despite their differences in rank. Xisel had been up early, tending to her dolls, when she heard a sudden shriek coming from Syaxsal's room, right next door.

Abandoning the porcelain doll on the floor, Xisel summoned Alice and Oz to her and disappeared through the door, meeting up with Xylle in the hall outside. Xylle had been hacking at the doorknob with her dual dagger weapon, and Xisel had to duck to avoid the solid metal knob as it flew off.

"What's going on?" the Marionette asked as she stood up and Xylle banged her way into the room.

"No need to be polite, I suppose.." Oz commented dryly as they all ran in.

Syaxsal was backed up to the wall, turning her head every which way as she let off a series of flashing lights from her spear. The sight dazed Xylle and Xisel and they weren't sure if they were just hallucinating the three Neoshadows that were silently creeping up on her.

Immediately, Xisel summoned her Puppets about her. She could see why Syaxsal wasn't reacting: the Trickster was blind and the Neoshadows silent; she couldn't hear or sense them!

Xylle threw herself at the Neoshadows, who turned to fight her. Oz and Alice, maneuvered by Xisel, went over to help. Alice dropped silvery white strings around the Neoshadows and Oz appeared to tie them down with magic, but when Xisel pulled her other hand back, the ensnared Heartless jerked back as well, hitting the wall.

While puppeteering the Heartless to attack its allies, Xisel went over to help Syaxsal up. With all the noise now, Syaxsal could focus and she pointed her spear at the Heartless, moving towards them to fight as well.

From outside the room, the three girls could hear Anix's unusually loud voice alerting the beset Organization.

"Heartless! Heartless in the castle!"

* * *

Anix and Kyrox fought back to back as Saix helped Cavex out of her predicament. She had been the one numbers XVII and VII heard screaming and, upon arrival, found Anix fighting a Destroyer Heartless. When he had seen the reinforcements come, Anix could find just enough time to turn his element upon himself, increase the volume of his voice, and alarmed the castle of the presence of the Heartless.

Anix blasted a Guardian away with a sonicboom and pressed against Kyrox, who was trying to fight off a Destroyer while keeping an eye on Cavex, who had been hit with a beam from the Robots shortly before they arrived.

"Where are all of them coming from?" Kyrox hissed as he dodge rolled to avoid the Destroyer's beam.

"No clue, but I'm not sure how much more of this we can take!" Anix exclaimed as he dove to the side as the two Robots readied their attacks. Stupidly enough, the two Heartless released their attacks at the same time and promptly obliterated each other.

"Good thing they have no brains." the blacksmith said as he leaned against the wall.

"I would not be too sure of that, XXV." Saix said. Kyrox, Anix, and Cavex looked at him.

"The Heartless did not just conveniently wander into the Castle all at once. They, or someone controlling them, planned this." the Luna Diviner said.

"But Nobodies are the only beings who could summon Heartless, I thought?" Kyrox asked.

"Someone is not loyal to the Organization." Saix said darkly as he opened a portal to another part of the castle, "_Someone_ is a traitor."

Alone, the three younger Nobodies looked at each other, unsure. A traitor?

"Someone's betraying us?" Cavex asked.

"Sure looks that way, doesn't it?" Anix questioned.

"Whether they are or they aren't, we need to make sure everyone is alright." Kyrox said. "Make sure everyone is on the alert. Without a doubt, there are many more Heartless where those two came from."

* * *

Axbrem notched another arrow to her bow as the room went dark again. She was growing tired of this constant shifting from light to darkness, and vowed to make this the final shot.

Leixym, Knexedy, and Xiyak were advancing towards the twin yellow lights at the end of the room; Axbrem could barely see their silhouettes as they went towards it. The three had devised a strategy: Axbrem shot it into illuminating the room again, then in those few seconds before the light went out, the others would jump on it and dwindle its health. So far, it was working.

Taking a breath and aiming straight for the place between the eyes, Axbrem closed one of her own and sighted along the trajectory of the arrow, ensuring her aim would be true.

She let go and pulled another dart from the quiver on her back and blinked as the room exploded into light. Immediately, Knexedy's sword glinted through the air and slashed through the Illuminator's back, cutting its health even further. Xiyak punched her metal-clad knuckles together and lightning cracked through to the Heartless, setting it alight with crackling electricity. Leixym sent a wave of water at the Heartless and in the madness that followed, stabbed her own weapon through the Illuminator's head, forcing it to explode into curling tendrils of smoke. Between the weaves of darkness, a ruby heart drifted almost lazily to the ceiling, where it promptly disappeared through the plaster.

"Something's very wrong here." Knexedy said as she backed up against the wall, thinking.

"No dip. There are Heartless in our castle!" Axbrem said as she ran over to join them.

"Not only that but...Illuminators, in general, are weak and easy-to-beat Heartless. That one took us almost an hour to defeat, and there were four of us attacking. The only way for a Heartless to become that strong would be if the heart it contained was abnormally strong...or someone very, very strong had summoned it." Knexedy explained.

"What?" Leixym asked, shocked.

"Nobodies—" Xiyak said.

"—are the only beings capable of forcibly summoning a Heartless anywhere." Knexedy finished for her.

"Then one of us summoned it." Axbrem said bitterly.

"Or maybe there were more than just one." Knexedy sighed.

All of them fell silent, contemplating who, or what, would betray the Organization like this. A prankster? An actual traitor? Or just a party-crazed Nobody?

None of them could even begin to guess.


	10. Part II: The Embers of Discontent

Roxas blinked awake at the sound of people running and jumping around on the floor above him.

"Sweet Kingdom Hearts—what now?" the teen groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. It was aching from where he had fallen out of bed and slept the rest of the night on the floor.

"Seal? Seal, wake up!" Roxas said to the lump on Axille's bed. Standing up and striding over, he shook the covers and shouted in a much louder tone.

"Get up! Get up already!"

"Roxas, I'm over here." Roxas looked up.

Axille, Makhaira in hand, was standing guard at the open door, looking out. The Makhaira's blade was resting across her chest in a kind of salute, as if at the ready.

"Axille, what are you doing?" Roxas asked, walking over to her. "Axille?"

Without looking at him, Axille stiffened and launched herself into the hall. Roxas chased after her, Keyblade pulled from the darkness, and looked to see what was making his young friend so agitated.

His question was answered when he looked out and saw Axille jumping backwards, away from a Heartless. A Barrier Master, to be exact. And, in looking around, Roxas could see soldiers of all shapes and degree running around.

"Heartless? In the castle?" the Keybearer hissed as he ran forward and slapped the Heartless' book away from it. The Barrier Master drooped, stunned, and Roxas began hammering away at it while Axille went at the soldiers. The rapier whistled faintly through the air as Axille slashed, lunged, and jumped around the quick-moving Heartless, getting into the rhythm of copying their attack patterns.

The Master shook itself awake and began slowly moving towards its book, and it was all Roxas could do to keep it from getting there. Breaking concentration for a moment, Axille kicked the book further down the corridor and went at a Commander as it changed course to get at Roxas.

The Key of Destiny soon realized, after ten minutes of repetitive, unending combat, that something was brutally wrong.

The Heartless should have disappeared by now.

"Axille!" he shouted as he barely knocked the Barrier Master unconscious again, "Something's making them stronger than normal!"

_"Lo so!_" Axille called back as she jumped to avoid a mass Deserter attack, "I know!"

When a Sergeant turned on him and attacked Roxas, he knew they were outnumbered.

"Axille, we've got to get out of here! We can find some other members and see if we can figure out what's going on!" he told the younger kid.

Axille looked loth to run from a fight in her own home, but she did as she was told.

When Roxas opened a portal and managed to get Axille through it, the two partners fled.

Behind them, the Heartless multiplied all over the area, drowning the normally pearl-white corridor in choking darkness.

* * *

Axel and Demyx met up with Xigbar and Xaldin as the two founding members convened in a Heartless-infested corridor. It was as if every single hallway was full of a different species of some Heartless or another; this one was full of mages.

"Xaldin, Scarlet Tango on your left!" Xigbar shouted as he jumped past Xaldin, letting off an arrow at the red Heartless that had appeared beside the Lancer's ear. The Emblem faded into darkness, releasing a heart, but causing another three to take its place.

"What's going on?" Demyx asked as he ran to help the two. Axel followed closely behind, his chakrams appearing in his hands like two flaming wheels.

"Heartless invasion. Happened while most everyone was sleeping, too." Xigbar explained shortly as he spun around and shot the Pink Concerto that was menacing him.

"Why are Wonderland Heartless in here?" Axel demanded as he shot a ball of fire at a Striped Aria. It started to spin vertically and tumbled all through the room, bumping into other mages as it was slowly eaten away by the fire that would not leave its side. Eventually, it disappeared.

"Forget that! Why are _Heartless_ in here?" Xigbar shot back.

The Freeshooter ducked as Xaldin hurled a lance over his head. The spear embedded itself in a Green Requiem that, in a burst of inky smoke, disappeared.

Demyx pulled his sitar free from the darkness and began strumming out a complicated series of notes on it. Water clones appeared in bright blue flashes of magic as Demyx belted out his signature line (Dance, water, dance!) and sent them at the enemy. A quintet of Yellow Operas, however, dispatched the twenty-something clones Demyx had managed to conjure in a matter of seconds. Displeased and taken off his guard, Demyx retreated to the wall and strummed out another army of clones, spreading them out to take up the available space in the corridor.

Axel fought around the clones as he went for those weakest to his element; the Pink Concertos, Striped Arias, Spring Metals, and Turquoise Marches made easy targets.

Xigbar was teleporting all over the place, his guns seeming to never run out of ammo. He appeared on the ceiling above a team of Crimson Jazzes and Black Ballades and managed to cut down the group's number by about half, and the one-eyed Nobody ducked to another corner of the room as a cascade of hearts traveled upwards, disappearing into the ceiling.

Xaldin's six lances spun around him like a carousel of unmerciful death as the Lancer went at the invaders with everything he had. He and the Heartless teams were matched; he pushed back at them, they pushed against him, neither side asking nor giving any quarter. But more Heartless kept appearing. For every one the Nobodies took down, five more seemed to fill their places. The hallway was quickly becoming too suffocating for the four Nobodies to fight in, much less move in.

Demyx was the first to get his senses about him and flee. He went to aid the others in another part of the castle. They would need him, he knew. Demyx may not have been the smartest Nobody alive, but even he could tell that whoever had sent these Heartless on them...wanted all of them dead.

Xigbar, Xaldin, and Axel caught on to this eventually and, faced with impossible odds, had no choice but to leave as well, forfeiting yet another portion of their domain to those beings they had previously, seemingly controlled. The Nobodies retreated, each with their own bitter thoughts and goals.

Axel went to locate Roxas and Axbrem. And consequently, Axille. He wanted his protege and best friend by his side to fight with. Though, and he couldn't deny himself this...he didn't want Axille around. The kid was a detriment to him. A nuisance, in fact. She couldn't fight, and always needed someone there to hold her hand. She'd only be crying her eyes out through this entire siege, and though he usually put up with it for Roxas' sake, Axel did not want to deal with it right now.

Xigbar went searching for Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion. Maybe the three geniuses knew what was going on or how to stop it. If nothing else, Xigbar thought it would be good to start there.

Xaldin went hunting for another group of Heartless to fight, preferably with Amenxtthe at his side to fight. If not her, then another member. Luxord, maybe. Or Saix. Whoever he chose, the Lancer knew that the entire Organization only had a short time to stop the Heartless threat—or risk losing everything.

* * *

Amenxtthe dashed down the hallway of the seventh floor, Belxeo gliding along in her wake. So many things were happening right now! Belxeo had awoken her with a loud alarm call that he only used in the face of imminent danger, and Amenxtthe could hear crashing, banging, and screams erupting all over the castle!

Her staff held ready in her fist, Amenxtthe barreled down the corridor in the direction of the Hall of Empty Melodies, where a particular cacophony of noise was coming from.

Upon entrance, Belxeo let out a loud squawk of indignation that matched the furious shout that forced itself out of Amenxtthe's mouth. Axbrem, Xiyak, Knexedy, and Leixym had migrated to the room to continue fighting, and slowly the rest of the Organization were making their way there as well. To meet their adversaries, the Heartless were arriving as well. But neither side could tell if this would truly be the final encounter or not.

Amenxtthe ran to join the fray as the other young Nobodies were thrown to different corners of the room by a Red Armor. Leixym's sword flashed a bright blue before a wave of salty ocean water crashed into the foe, shorting it out. As the different body parts scrambled about and went haywire, Amenxtthe was on the scene, targeting the flailing hands. Xiyak went to help her, while Axbrem and Knexedy focused on the feet. Leaving Leixym to the head, the five girls synced their attacks perfectly so that no one part was given any more or any less treatment than the opposite. When the body put itself back together again, it was considerably weaker than it was. But still, it wasn't enough.

The powered up Heartless, like all of its allies scattered throughout the castle, was almost five times as strong as it usually was. Whoever was directing this entire ordeal, they were not a force to be reckoned with.

Axel, Roxas, and Demyx appeared in three simultaneous flashes of smoke. Behind them came Axille, Anix, Kyrox, Saix, Marluxia, Xavier, and Xigbar. The Freeshooter hadn't been able to force his way down to Nothing's Call, where Vexen's laboratory was located, and so had decided to rejoin the fight for the castle.

Oddly enough, Xemnas was nowhere to be seen.

Amenxtthe found this rather odd. Sure, the Superior liked to leave things to his expendable underlings and keep his hands clean, but surely even he would come to aid if he risked having his castle and all of his efforts crash to the ground, with no hope of pulling it back together?

Was the Superior away because he didn't care?

Did important business call him away?

Is he truly that uncaring or unconcerned of the Nobodies he's brought together?

These questions and about a hundred more swirled in the head of the avian girl as she sent Belxeo forward to distract the Red Armor as it came at them again.

Meanwhile, Axel, Roxas, and Demyx were working as a perfect trio to fight back against the onslaught of a Chill Ripper. With Axel's fire eating steadily away at its health, with Roxas and Demyx chipping away all the while, the three were proving to be a wonderful team.

Axille, Anix, Kyrox, and Saix found themselves pushed together in a corner and menaced by a powered-up Veil Lizard.

The Veil Lizard, true to its name, disappeared. Unnervingly enough, none of the four Nobodies could even chance a guess at where it might be.

It announced itself when its eyes lit up and specks of light started forming and gathering around the two glowing spheres. Seeing this, the Nobodies all dispersed and dodge-rolled away from the scene, just as the Lizard released its beams and the two rays arced towards each other, cutting across the paths the Nobodies had been on. Kyrox could feel the heat of one as it passed over his head, it was so close.

Tracking where it had come from, Saix quickly slipped over to where the eyes had shown itself and given the seemingly empty air a good, solid WHACK with his Claymore. The Lizard appeared in a psychedelic assortment of rainbow colors as it stumbled back, surprised.

The three younger Nobodies ran at the Lizard and drowned it in a salvo of sound, dark magic, and its own attacks as numbers XV, XVII, and XXV jumped on the chance to kill it off.

Beneath the attack, the Veil Lizard's forearm flailed out and caught Axille by her chest. The momentum was enough to send both the girl and her weapon spinning away from each other and they hit the wall with a thud and a clatter.

When gravity took it to the floor, the mask disappeared and Axille stumbled to her feet, too dazed to call it back again. As if sensing her disorientation, the Veil Lizard turned on the younger Nobody and disappeared. But no one had to play the guessing game as to where it was going. It was headed straight for Axille.

Shaking her head, Axille saw Kyrox and Anix running towards her and felt the hot breath of the Veil Lizard as she was suddenly pushed up against the wall. She couldn't see where it was, but she didn't have to. Axille could recall the basic anatomy of the Heartless from fighting it, and so watched for the light rays.

When they appeared, Axille had only a split second to move. Pressing her hands against the wall and pushing off in the same moment, Axille aimed her feet forward and kicked the Lizard square in the chest, knocking it backwards, into visibility, and off of her.

Once she was freed, Axille summoned her mask to her again and held it in a defensive position, waiting for the Lizard to attack.

What she hadn't counted on, however, was it ducking down and doing a spin kick, right underneath her legs. She was thrown off balance and when she landed, she felt herself being crushed and suffocated by the Lizard's tremendous weight. The table had been turned, and the gathering waves of light at the Lizard's eyes warned of her impending disappearance.

Her arm and weapon trapped beneath her and her entire body squashed by the Lizard, Axille could only watch in horror as the Lizard reared up and readied its attack. She shut her eyes tight and waited for the emptiness...

_CLANG!_

Axille's eyes opened in an instant. All at once, the Lizard was stumbling backwards with Axel repeatedly throwing his chakrams at it. Roxas and Demyx were finishing off the Chill Ripper and Axille sprang to her feet, watching in fascination as Axel depleted the Veil Lizard's health, with Kyrox and Anix ever in the background, helping him finish.

The simultaneous disappearance of the Red Armor, Chill Ripper, and Veil Lizard sent the Hall into spiraling silence as each Nobody took a momentary reprieve.

Axille was breathing heavily, getting over the shock (or was it pseudo shock?) of nearly being killed, but her breath was steadily growing easier.

She looked at Axel with wide eyes and was about to say a word of extreme gratitude when the redhead suddenly turned on her, his green eyes dancing with a furious blaze.

_"What the hell is wrong with you!"_ he shouted. The volume of his voice was enough to send Axille a step back. She could only stare in fear and confusion as Axel advanced, venting his spleen out to the girl.

"Why can't you do anything right?" he demanded, "You can't fight, can't protect yourself—must you always need someone to save you?"

"Axel—" Roxas began. Axel cut across him, as if he hadn't heard.

"And it's not just that, either!" the furious redhead continued, "Why were we saddled with such a useless kid? You're too young to do anything right, you can't use your so-called 'element' for anything, and what's worse, you drag everyone down with you!"

Somehow, Axille knew it was the stress of the day that was making Axel scream at her like this, but that still didn't erase the hurt. But despite the miniscule trace of knowing he was just irrational right now, Axille just couldn't cling to it. As Axel just shouted at her, cursing her ability, her age, her uselessness, Axille found her trust in knowing Axel didn't mean any of it fading.

"Axel—!" Roxas said, more urgently this time. He had seen the faint tears pricking at Axille's eyes and while he knew Axel was just being pseudo emotional right now, they didn't need any of this. "Axel, leave her alone! She's doing her best!"

Now Axel turned on him.

"Her best isn't enough! Her 'best' is going to kill her, and we'll have to clean up the mess afterwards!" he exclaimed, "She can't do anything! Why are you standing up for her like this?"

"Because if I don't, no one will!" Roxas shouted back.

"Guys!" Kyrox shouted, raising his voice above the two. Axbrem and her comrades had arrived by now, and the scene was becoming too large for anyone's liking. "Enough! We don't need this right now! There are still Heartless in the castle, and we have to focus on hurting them, not each other!"  
"He's right!" Demyx said, speaking up for them all, "The Heartless are our main priority! Leave Axille alone, Axel, she did her absolute best!"

The mullet-headed Nocturne turned to Axille and saw her tear-stained face looking back at him. No other words were shared as Axille turned and ran from the room, throwing herself out into the maelstrom of Heartless that awaited her outside. Maybe it was suicide, or she was just running away, but she was gone.

"Axel—you're a jerk, you know that?" Roxas said harshly as he ran out after her.

"Not cool, man. You went too far." Leixym added as she too, left to find Axille.

"Make yourself useful, and instead of breaking us down, go jump off the Altar of Naught, will you?" Xiyak growled as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

One by one, the Nobodies disappeared to different parts of the castle, and soon the pyro was left alone.

He looked up at the sound of faint, barely discernible clapping. A black cloak swished towards him and Axel could only look at the figure approaching him with an unfazed expression on his face, though underneath, a hurricane of anger and regret reigned.

"Well done, Axel...well done indeed." the new arrival said. Their voice was soft, smooth, but was it real or fake? The truth, or a front to lull him into a false state of security?

Axel could only stand in stiff uncaring as the new figure dropped their hood, revealing the traitorous countenance beneath the dark, secretive material...


	11. Part III: Heartless Rising

Axille was nowhere to be found.

Roxas had been the first out of the Hall of Empty Melodies to find her—to no avail! The Heartless lunged at him from all corners and it was all the Key of Destiny could do to not get struck down.

Xiyak, Leixym, Kyrox, and Demyx tried to keep up, but usually they fell behind to stave off the Heartless and clear Roxas' path. No one complained or argued as they fought their way through their besieged home, apart from spitting insults to the Heartless as they did combat.

They fought bravely, until they found they could break through no farther; the sea of Heartless was just too much to fight off.

"Out of my way!" Roxas shouted defiantly, brandishing his Keyblade.

"Back off!" Demyx added, strumming a few quick notes on his guitar. Water-clones sprang up and formed a defensive wall in front of the Nobodies, preparing for the storm to break.

...but it didn't.

At a silent signal from somewhere, the Heartless stopped flashing their evil yellow eyes and retreated, receding into the walls, the floors, and back the way they had come.

Confused, Demyx dropped the water-clones and the now lifeless water slopped harmlessly to the floor, where it soaked into the carpet and stayed there.

"...what?" Leixym asked, putting her sword away. She had been so ready for a fight...did they seriously just win without lifting a finger?

"Something's not right." Xiyak said, dismissing her weapon and looking at them. "I have a bad feeling that this is just the beginning."

"The beginning of something far worse than a siege." Kyrox remarked.

"Well, whatever." Roxas muttered, "Axille's still in danger. I say we take the time we have to find her."

"Indeed." a soft voice said. The Nobodies looked around to see a portal opening up and, after a moment of tense silence, Amenxtthe, Xisel, Syaxsal, and Knexedy appeared.

"Hey," Leixym said, surprised, "we haven't seen you for a while."

"Heartless." Amenxtthe said stiffly, "We cannot exactly rush around gossiping while we are being attacked."

"True."

Xiyak walked forward, her dark orange eyes glowing, "Let me guess...sudden Heartless disappearance?"

"Yeah." Knexedy nodded, her blue eyes clouded with worry, "I can't explain it...Heartless are usually not as docile as that, especially when they're just about to attack. I can't help but wonder who would have the power to control this many Heartless, and control them without their control breaking."

"Someone dangerous, that's who." Demyx said.

"But wait," Amenxtthe said suddenly, "what's this about finding Axille? Where did she go?"

Roxas sighed.

"We don't know. Axel blew up at her and she ran off...we've been trying to find her, but it's like she vanished or something." Leixym said.

"Vanished...or perhaps, maybe, kidnapped?" Kyrox asked.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Kidnapped?" Roxas echoed, his eyes narrowed in confusion, "Who would want to kidnap her?"

"The same person who tried to kill her. The person who tried to kill us?" Kyrox said.

Everyone still looked disbelieving. Surely Axille had just run off and hidden herself away somewhere?

"All I am saying is, this entire series of events doesn't add up, without some kind of plot. I mean, think about it for a second. Axel gets furious at Axille after the Veil Lizard tries to kill her, Axille runs off, and almost right after that the Heartless disappear." Kyrox summarized.

"Now that you mention it...it does seem sort of iffy." Demyx said, "You're right, Kyrox. As soon as we lost her, the Heartless retreated...something bad's about to happen."

Roxas' blue eyes blazed as he growled, "Then we have to find her before it does."

"Where do you propose we look, XIII?" Kyrox asked, "You're asking nine people to search a castle this big?"

"No, I'm not." Roxas said icily, "I'm telling you to."

Without waiting for another response, Roxas turned around and stormed off into a portal, leaving his eight companions in the hall.

"...can't argue with that." Leixym reasoned, "After all, he is superior to us."

She passed a glance to Demyx and said, "Well, most of us."

Demyx shrugged, "He's right; we have to go after her."

"Then let's go." Amenxtthe said, turning around and leaving to a different part of the castle.

"I just pray we aren't too late." Xisel sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Zexion, Vexen, and Lexaeus, who up until now had been shut up in the laboratory, surfaced to seek out their Superior. They had some very interesting news to share.

"Come, hurry up." Vexen snapped as they hurried through their abode, "I'll not risk a portal in the present state of things."

"Then we had better find the Superior soon," Zexion said grimly, "look ahead."

They did, and they stopped dead at the horrific sight that greeted them.

* * *

"Luxord!" Larxene snapped at the Gambler, who was emerging from a corridor, looking haggard and tired.

"Larxene." the tenth member said.

"Drop the righteous act, Luxord. The Heartless are falling back, and I don't know where the hell Xemnas has gotten to!"

Luxord shook his head and massaged his goatee, looking at the fierce Nymph before him.

"But surely if the Heartless are falling back, that means we've won, yes?" he asked peaceably.

"Don't tell me you can't see it!" Larxene exclaimed, "Look, the Heartless were ten times stronger than usual, right? Why do they choose now to retreat, when they've just about wiped us out? Something's screwy here, and I have a hunch Xemnas might be involved."

Luxord sighed, "And why, pray tell, do you suspect foul play at the hands of our Superior?"

"He hasn't been around all day." Larxene pointed out, "Even though his Organization is at risk of being annihilated, he isn't around to defend it."

"Well in his defense," Luxord said, "he does have fourteen more Nobodies he can dispose of...with apparent ease. Have you heard? Axille has gone missing as well. I fear the worst, that she has been eliminated...such a shame too, I actually rather liked her."

"Whatever. She was too young and too weak to do what she had to. Better her to be dead than anyone else." Larxene said irritably, angry that Luxord had a point. Xemnas did have a whole new Organization at his defense, why would he care?

Luxord coughed and waved his hand, dismissing the current topic. "C'est la vie. Now, I think that, in our moment of respite, we should go and locate everyone else. If the Heartless are planning a second attack, it would probably be best to have the whole Organization fighting as a group, instead of us all over the place attacking single-handedly."

"Good idea." Larxene said grudgingly. She opened a portal and the two of them went through it, off to gather their forces.

* * *

A black shape loomed in the staircase ahead of the three intellectuals stuck in the basement. Immediately Zexion ran a scan with his current Lexicon of choice—conveniently enough, Dear Diary.

"This is strange." the youth muttered as he stepped back, allowing the scanner to survey the creature as a whole. "It is a Heartless, indefinitely, but it doesn't have a specific class...it isn't a Pureblood, nor an Emblem...but these readings are definitely Heartless."

"What is it?" Vexen asked, coming over to read the report.

"It...it doesn't have a name, either. But it seems to be the main source of all of the Heartless in the castle. See, look there-!" Zexion exclaimed, pointing to something on-screen.

Something beeped on the computer and an infrared video popped up, showing a Dustflier pulling itself out of the black mass and disappearing.

"It is somehow creating all of the Heartless...but that's impossible! Surely no one Heartless has the power to produce more, and more of every single species, no less?" the Schemer wondered.

His attention was once more drawn to the computer screen. The red heat detectors were turning blue, and he realized the creature must be going to sleep.

"Forget that for a moment." Vexen said, "Obviously this thing is an unknown threat, and should be treated as such. I do not think it has spotted or noticed us, but just in case, we should keep well away until we come upon a solution to eradicate it."

"Sit back and do nothing? We have a chance to take it out, now that it's sleeping, and that's your plan?" Zexion asked.

"For now." Vexen answered, "That is, unless you wish to engage it by yourself? I assure you, I will not be risking my safety on that monstrosity when it awakens. And believe me, the second it senses you attacking, it will wake up. But if you wish to end your existence here, be my guest."

He stepped back and motioned for Zexion to attack, but the slate-haired teen stood rooted to the spot, glaring at his mentor with undisguised spite.

"I thought so." Vexen said triumphantly, "Now maybe you will obey my orders and get back?"

"Maybe I will." Zexion muttered under his breath, too quiet for anyone but him to hear.

The three Nobodies retreated until they were at a safe distance from the unknown threat, and they sat down to wait. For someone to come after them, or for the thing to move on.

* * *

"Wait a minute, this...this isn't right." Roxas said confusedly, looking around. He had intended for his portal to take him to his and Axille's room, not the Altar of Naught!

"This isn't right." he muttered as he opened another portal, this time his entire being focused on going back to their room. That was the obvious place for a scared little kid to hide in, he realized, straight home.

* * *

"The portals aren't working!" Leixym exclaimed as, for the fifth time that day, her wayward corridors brought her to the last she expected to be—back in the Hall of Empty Melodies.

"Yeah they aren't." Roxas' voice came from somewhere behind her. She whirled around to see the Key of Destiny stalking from a corridor, obvious frustration on his face. "I've tried going all over the place, but it's always the last place I think of that I'm sent to!"

"Same here. I've been trying to get to Havoc's Divide for like, thirty minutes, but I'm always thrown someplace else." Leixym said.

"What do you think is going on?" another voice asked. The young Nobodies looked around to see Luxord and Larxene approaching, another dark corridor fading into the background.

"Something bad, no doubt."

This time it was Axbrem, Xigbar, Xaldin, Saix, Anix, Syaxsal, and Knexedy who appeared, each of them popping out of a corridor in random parts of the room. It was Xaldin who had spoken.

"This is so weird!" Knexedy exclaimed as she raised her hand to form another corridor. The black wisps of smoke appeared, then faded almost in the same instance. She tried again, and even less of a corridor popped up; just as before, the smoke didn't last for long. "The corridors aren't working!"

"Yeah," Xigbar said, "first they went haywire when they almost dropped me off the side of the castle, but now they just aren't appearing at all. Wonder what's up?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Saix sighed, "Whoever caused this disruption in the routine has somehow found a way to disable the corridors. What I want to know is, why do they all seem to be taking us here, of all places?"

"That's it!"

They all looked around to Axbrem, who was standing up straight, her eyes wide.

"What's it, Ax?" Leixym asked him.

"Yes, do enlighten us." Xaldin said drily.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Axbrem asked. When she continued to receive weird glares, she went on.

"I mean...all of our portals aren't working right, right? And in the end, they all took us here. So, that means that everyone else's portals are likely to take them here..."

Knexedy was catching on fast.

"Ohh, right! So that means, I'm guessing, that when everyone else gets here..." she continued.

"Something tells me this room's important." Axbrem said, "Something tells me that, if the final conflict between us and whoever is behind all of this is going to happen, this is where it's going to happen."


	12. Part IV: Fighting Back

Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus were still trapped in the basement.

By now, the portals had stopped working for them, and the Heartless...creator was still blocking the way. Of course, it was still asleep, which lessened the danger.

"This is your fault." Zexion hissed, rounding on Vexen. The Academic looked at him, surprised, until he replied, "I was merely trying to keep us alive."

"Well now that we're stuck here, we don't _know_ if everyone's still alive! For all we know, we could be the last Nobodies in the castle!" Zexion seethed.

"Don't be so ridiculous." Vexen snapped, "We would have sensed if one of the others were eliminated. That, or the sudden absence would be recorded on your computer."

"How do you know that?" Zexion exclaimed, "You were already wrong in telling us to stay here, when the portals still worked, so how do know you're right about this?"

"I don't." Vexen shrugged, "Half of science is trial and error, boy. Perhaps this is just another error."

"An error in your judgment, if nothing else." Zexion muttered as he went to lean against the wall. He typed something on his computer and lost himself in whatever he was doing, pointedly ignoring the Academic and the Hero still in the room.

Silence took over as the three Nobodies contemplated their fate—were they, indeed, the last men alive?

* * *

"I believe that is everyone here." Saix was saying. Some of the other members had been taken back to the Hall as well, and, without anything else to do, Saix was taking a head-count.

Out of the twenty-eight members of the Organization, only nineteen were there. The ones missing were Xemnas, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Axel, Marluxia, Xion, Axille, and Xylle.

"Well, we all know Axille's dead, so we can just cut her out." Larxene said. Roxas bristled and looked ready to protest, when Xigbar cut in for him.

"We don't know if she's dead yet." he said, "For all we know, she could still be alive somewhere."

"And likewise, for all we know, she could have been eliminated. Face it—the kid never had a chance here." Larxene shot back.

"She had every chance!" Roxas countered. "You never believed in her! No one did!"

"Rox," Axbrem said from behind, "we did believe in her. But let's face it, Larxene has a point. Axille's either been kidnapped or killed, and if this threat's as bad as we think it is, being dead might be a blessing for her."

"Look—if we don't know we don't know. Let's quit jumping to conclusions and try to figure a way out of our situation, okay?" Xigbar said, trying to ease the tension in the room, "The others that're missing could well be in the same boat as her."

"Yeah...I don't know what I would do if Axel or Xion didn't make it out of this attack." Roxas said worriedly.

"Or Vexen!" Knexedy exclaimed, worried for her mentor.

"Or Zexion." Alice the doll murmured, "We're all worried about them."

"Enough of that, all of you."

Everyone looked up at Saix, who was glaring at them with a frustrated gleam in his eye.

"Enough of what?" Roxas asked.

"Stop acting as if you have hearts to worry for them with." the Diviner said, "You are only deluding yourselves. They are most likely dead—accept that fact and move on."

"How could you say that?" Leixym asked, shocked.

"You forget, number XX, that you are a Nobody. You cannot feel worry, or fear, or sorrow. Acting as if you can is only blinding you to the situation at hand—do not forget, we could very well be attacked at any moment." Saix said coldly.

"Saix, that's not helping anyone any." Xigbar told him.

"But he does have a point." Xaldin said. "We have to focus on what's happening, or could happen, right now. No need to be pseudo-emotional for our lost numbers."

The neophytes still looked dubious, but they didn't protest further. Instead, they retreated to a corner of the room and sat down together, taking comfort from the presences of their remaining friends.

But the question still hovered on the edge of everyone's minds.

_Are they still alive?_

* * *

Xylle awoke to the horrible feeling of rope pressing against her stomach.

Thrashing around like an ensnared fish, she fought to loosen the blindfold that someone had tied to her eyes and summon her weapon. She could hear movement around her, and her senses were high on the alert.

She froze at the sound of footsteps moving towards her and she scowled, glaring in the direction they were coming from.

"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?" she challenged.

The person, if a person it was, didn't reply.

"I'm warning you! You'd better keep back!" Xylle hissed. Her legs were still somewhat free, so she lashed out with her feet. She was pleased to hear a startled, pained grunt from in front.

"Xylle—!" the voice exclaimed, "Relax! It's just me!"

Xylle froze.

"Axel?" she asked.

"Yeah. Hold still, let me cut these things."

A moment later, Xylle could feel her limbs being released and she tore the blindfold off of her head, looking up at the redheaded Flurry before her.

"What's the big idea?" she snapped.

"Not _my_ idea, I can tell you that much." Axel scoffed, "I didn't know you, Xion, and Axille would be kidnapped, just to let you know."

"_What_?" Xylle screeched, "Xion's been captured too?"

"Calm down!" Axel exclaimed, "I know where she is. Just shut up and follow me."

Xylle did, but the scowl on her face screamed distrust as she followed the eighth member down the hall. She noticed that the hallways were darker than the rest of the castle, and a bit less well-cleaned; there were spiderwebs stretching over the ceiling and dust was rising with every step.

"Where are we anyways?" number XXVI asked, stifling a sneeze.

"The Hall of Empty Words." Axel replied, though his voice was muffled, "It's an abandoned part of the castle that, until recently, only the Six knew about."

"The Six?" Xylle asked.

"Yeah. Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion. The founding members. I think that, in the original blueprints for the castle, this was supposed to be a living area. See? There are old rooms and hallways that could've been sleeping places. I don't know why, but Xemnas moved the living areas towards the center of the castle for everyone." Axel explained. "Wait, stop."

Xylle did, and saw that Axel had come to a smallish door. She watched, intrigued, as Axel pulled a small brass key out of his pocket and opened the lock. He went in, and Xylle followed right after.

The room they entered was very bleak and empty, even for the castle. It had a low ceiling, and narrow walls; Xylle could hardly believe it was a room.

After she got a good look around and returned her attention to Axel, she saw he was busy on the other side of the room. Straining her eyes, she could see that there was another door there.

"Come on!" Axel called after he managed to get the door open, "The locks are getting harder and harder to open. We have to hurry!"

Xylle ran over and dashed through the open door, almost colliding with Axel when he stopped.

"Sh." he hissed, holding a finger to his mouth. He pointed ahead and Xylle saw a stone-bound door.

"What?" Xylle asked, not bothering to lower her voice, "It's just a door. Come on!"

"No, Xylle, wait!" Axel exclaimed as she ran forward.

When she was within striking distance of it, the door rattled and dust fell off of it as the rock started to crumble. Xylle saw and tried to stop, but not before the door exploded in a hail of rock and rubble and a Thresholder became visible.

* * *

Zexion was confused.

The Creator (which he had named the foreign Heartless) had still not made a move, but now there was another Heartless presence being recorded on his computer. Where it was though, surprised him even more. In fact, his surprise made him momentarily forget his frustration with Vexen and he dashed over to the others, showing them his laptop.

"Number IV, Number V, look at this!" he exclaimed, pointing to something on the screen.

"A Heartless in the Hall of Empty Words?" Vexen asked, after reading the data.

"No one has been down there since..." Lexaeus trailed off.

They all looked at each other.

"Since...the _incident_." Zexion finished as he closed his laptop and tucked it under his arm.

"The incident." Vexen echoed. He shook his head, his green eyes dark.

"This makes no sense," he said, "why would a Heartless show up there? We blocked off all access to it years ago!"

"Someone's unblocked it." Zexion said, "And now there's a Pureblood there."

"Are you getting any other readings? Open that device back up, Zexion, maybe you can get a thermal." Vexen suggested.

"My computer is advanced, not magic." Zexion deadpanned, "But fine, I'll try it."

He sat down again and crossed his legs, placing the computer neatly on top of them. He bent his head forward and rapidly typed some commands into the device, mouthing them as he went.

"I'm getting...something. But the signal is blocked by the Creator and I can't get a good view..." he murmured. "But there's a red flash right here, very bright...I wonder what it is?"

Vexen moved over and got down on his knees, observing the screen intently. "That could very well be Number VIII, his unnaturally high body temperature would show brighter in a thermal scan than anyone else's."

"But how did Axel learn about the Hall?" Lexaeus asked as he sat down beside them, "We've been keeping it secret for all these years."

"Possibly someone leaked?" Zexion asked as he watched Axel's rapid movements on the screen.

"We were all sworn to secrecy about it, Zexion." Vexen reminded him.

"Yes, I know that." Zexion snapped, "But anything could've happened."

Axel's figure on the screen was jumping and dodging all over, undoubtedly fighting the Heartless, and the three intellectuals had no choice but to sit back and watch, and see what happened next.

But of course, while they were doing that, they were paying no attention to the Creator behind them. Slowly, it stirred and its yellow eyes glowed, and small lumps of half-formed Heartless began to rise off of it...

* * *

"I don't like this, guys." Leixym was saying.

She, like her other neophytes, were feeling an unbearable weight of tension rising between the groups of neophytes and older Nobodies as the rift between them grew. Belxeo, seated on Amenxtthe's shoulder, squawked nervously and shuffled closer to his owner, his feathers ruffled from the stress.

"The castle's too quiet." Xavier said grimly, "I don't like it."

Darxet beside her narrowed his eyes and doubled over, fighting back a wave of nausea as the others watched him anxiously. He went green for a moment before it faded, and he sat back, paled.

"Darxet, are you alright?" Cavex asked anxiously, "If not, I can give you some—"

"I'll be fine, I'm fine." Darxet said, shaking his head. "But what do you all think about this situation?"

"I don't like it." Oz the doll said, "It's too quiet, and it feels like we're growing apart when we should be standing together."

"No sense in thinking that, Oz." Xiyak said. She sent a brief glare at the other Nobodies before lowering her voice to a whisper, "It feels like they're plotting something."

"What? C'mon, I know it's been a rough day, but no need to think about a conspiracy." Knexedy said, looking at her with wide eyes.

"No, really!" Xiyak insisted, "I mean...look at them! Whispering together like that, do you honestly think they're not planning something?"

"They're most likely just planning out a strategy for when and if we are attacked." Kyrox said.

"If they were, why aren't they asking us? I don't know, Xiyak might have a point..." Xavier murmured.

Xiyak nodded, pleased. "Exactly!"

"Look," Knexedy sighed, "I know it's been a rough day but they're our partners and our mentors. I don't think they're planning on doing anything stupid right now."

"How do you know?" Xiyak asked.

"I have faith in them!" Knexedy said stubbornly, "Something's up, but I don't think they're going to betray us! End of discussion!"

"You're sounding more like Vexen every single day." Alice the doll sighed.

"I can't help it, okay?" Knexedy said, "Just...have a little more faith in them."

"Faith won't get us anywhere." Xiyak said grimly, "Look there."

Everyone turned around at the sound of Heartless arriving, and in a flash of white light everyone had drawn their weapons.

"It's back on!" Axbrem hissed.

* * *

Xylle staggered backwards as the Thresholder nailed her in the stomach. She looked up as a flaming disc flew by overhead and smashed into the face of the right-hand Heartless. Shaking off her shock, she held her daggers tight and lunged at the left-side one, managing to cut a hole down its arm.

"We have to hurry, there isn't much time left!" Axel called over the noise of the fight.

"Time left to do _what?!_" Xylle questioned as she narrowly avoided another sucker punch, this time to the face.

Axel didn't reply, rather he sent another exploding chakram into the keyhole between the two Heartless. It went through and he jumped back, avoiding another blow.

"Get back!" he shouted. Xylle did, and watched, fascinated, as Axel raised his hand and cupped it, holding his fingers together.

A maniacal smirk appeared on his lips as he stared at the Heartless and said, "Goodbye."

He snapped his fingers, and the Heartless was engulfed in a blazing inferno, blown up from the inside.

Smoke from the fire and the fading Heartless wove together and rose into the ceiling; there was no heart appearing this time.

"...Whoa." Xylle said, surprised. Axel just shook it off and moved towards the door, placing his hand out as he did.

He pushed it open and beckoned for his younger follower to come as they entered into a large room. Xylle looked up as they went in and saw the ceiling was surprisingly high, despite its position in the castle. The walls were smooth and domed, akin to the Place Where Nothing Gathers.

After coming to this realization, she became hauntingly aware that this place was even more familiar than she had thought. There were six high thrones in here, arranged in a circle, and all of differentiating heights. The main difference was that the upper half of the room was lost in black, empty shadow.

Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked out onto a circular platform and Xylle shuddered, remembering the day when she had walked out onto the floor of the Round Room; her footsteps had sounded the same as they did right now.

"This was the original Place Where Nothing Gathers." Axel whispered, "It was scrapped, like the rest of the Wing of Faded Memories, when the Organization got too big."

"The Wing of Faded Memories?" Xylle asked, her voice hoarse in the huge room.

"That's the name of this place. It used to have a different one, way back when, but after they moved Xemnas renamed it and called it the Wing of Faded Memories." Axel explained, "Now hush, let me do something."

He summoned a miniscule ball of fire and let it hover on his hand for a moment, before he flung it up at the darker parts of the room. The ball, like a miniature sun, illuminated the six thrones in turn as it flew from one to the next. From her standpoint, Xylle could see that Axel was puppeteering the fire to move around, like Xisel did with her puppet strings.

"Nice control." she commented, watching the sun fly around.

"Thanks. It's a trick I learned after watching Xisel. Apparently, you neophytes are good for something." Axel replied. His fingers stopped moving and the sun hovered in place, right in front of the largest chair.

He gently pushed it forward and Xylle backed up, craning her neck to see what was up there. The sun flashed for a moment and Axel hissed something that sounded like "Found you."

Xylle's eyes widened as she saw who was up there.

* * *

Xion struggled feebly against the ropes that bound her. The blood pounded in her ears as she realized she was staring at the inside of a rag; she was blindfolded.

Her struggling got rougher and harder as she tried to loosen the ropes that bound her, but they were tied tight and wouldn't move.

She blinked once or twice when she peered through the rough material of the fold, her eyelashes scratching against the material, blocking her vision.

Was that a glowing ball of light coming at her?

_No,_ she chided herself, _you're still dizzy. After all, that was a pretty nasty ambush..._

But after a minute of watching the strange deity hovering lazily towards her, Xion realized that it was, in fact, real. What it was remained to be seen, and rather than finding out and maybe it being something she wouldn't want to encounter, she turned her head and started to buck even more, trying to escape before it got too close. Her eyes shut tight and tucked her head down, desperate to protect herself from this unknown being.

But she dared to look up, just a bit, and saw that the floating ball of light was directly in front of her.

Xion screamed, even louder when she heard sharp wind whistling through the air and something sharp slice by her. She was being attacked!

She jerked from side to side, trying to go on the evasive as she felt more sharp breezes rifling past her. For some reason, or by some miracle, she was never hit, but the projectiles were loosening the ropes!

_Whoever's attacking me isn't very bright._

At last, she felt the last rope being cut and she summoned her weapon. She straightened up and jumped, expecting to feel nice, solid ground beneath her.

So how surprised was she, when her feet touched down on nothing but empty air?

Needless to say; she plummeted like a stone.

* * *

"Now where is he, Zexion?" Vexen asked.

"It looks like...he's in the old Round Room." Zexion said, bewildered.

"The old Round Room?" questioned the Academic.

"That's what it says." Zexion shrugged.

"...Number IV, Number VI, put that device down and look at this."

They looked around to see Lexaeus with his shoulder rigid, his axe sword drawn as he stared at the Creator.

The two others looked up slowly and saw that, while they had been pouring over the computer, the Creator had awakened again and was producing even more Heartless than before. But on the bright side, it wasn't targeting them.

"I don't think it even knows we're here." Zexion whispered.

"Yes...let's attack it." Lexaeus said suddenly, heaving his Axe Sword high.

"What?!" Vexen exclaimed, "Have you gone mad? We'll never survive a fight with that monstrosity!"

"But if we fight it and eliminate it, no more Heartless." Lexaeus argued.

"Whoever created the Creator could make _another_ one, though." Zexion said, stepping between them, "They did it once, they can, and will, do it again. We have to focus on figuring out who created this thing, and find a way to get to and finish _them_ off. Once we get rid of the puppetmaster, the puppet will be lost."

"We're cut off from the others, Number VI." Vexen told him, "Even if we did find out who caused this, how would we stop them?"

Zexion looked away but said nothing. He had no response to that.

"Exactly." Vexen said. "The Creator is leaving us alone, so leave it alone."

"The more nothing we do, the more our problems build up." Zexion warned.

"We will be fine." Vexen said firmly.

Lexaeus dropped his weapon but said nothing, still glaring hatefully at the thing that had disturbed his life at the castle.

* * *

Leixym backed up with her neophyte friends as a gang of Shadows and Soldiers turned to face them. Small stuff, easy peasy.

Her confidence was swept away with the appearance of a Windstorm and a Phantomtail, and the two flying Heartless turned on them.

With a pang of shock, she realized that they were only targeting the _neophytes_. The original Organization stood back, looking on, with nothing turning to attack them.

"Understand me now?" she heard Xiyak hiss. Disdainful mutters around her alerted Leixym to the fact that the others had noticed what she had, and maybe, just maybe, her conspiracy theory had some truth behind it after all.

There was no more time to talk as the two sides clashed.

Like a well-oiled machine, the neophytes split into two groups and led the Heartless away; dividing the threat would make it easier to take down.

But even like this, the neophytes were hard-pressed, and the Originals were showing no sign in coming to help. They hovered in the back of the room, watching uneasily as their partners did battle with their returning adversaries.

"Kyrox, on your left!" Anix called as he ducked a swipe from the Windstorm's tail.

Kyrox turned and swung his scythe around and nailed the Neoshadow that was sneaking up on him right in the head. He was pleased to see it faded without another attack, and he realized that they were back down to their usual level of strength.

"They're back to normal, everyone! Push them back!" he called encouragingly, as he went to aid Anix in fighting the Windstorm.

When he got closer, he was pleased to see that Anix was wearing earplugs this time, so that when the Windstorm reared back and let a deafening screech rock the room, he fought on without even flinching.

Axbrem and Xavier were the heads of the battle on the other side of the room. Axbrem ducked every now and then to avoid the Phantomtail's attack, but things were going relatively smoothly now that they knew they were dealing with average-strength Heartless.

"Knexedy, on your right!" Darxet shouted as he swung his hammer around and promptly crushed an oncoming Soldier.

Knexedy, without looking up, raised her sword and crashed it against the ground. A fiery explosion started up and wiped out almost half of the surrounding enemies as Knexedy staggered back and Darxet caught her, helping her recover.

"Nice one." he said.

"Th-Thanks!" Knexedy exclaimed. She looked up and pointed, her eyes wide.

Darxet looked up and saw the Phantomtail swooping down on top of them, only to be thrown off-course by a well-placed arrow.

Axbrem ran over and readied her bow as the Phantomtail circled just out of reach, contemplating the next move.

"Some other time, okay guys? We're kind of in a situation here!" she hissed as she shot her arrow up and it dug into the leg of the Phantomtail. It screeched in anger and dived, looking for all the world like a peregrine falcon on a nose-dive as it came at them. Darxet pushed Knexedy to safety and raised his hammer, throwing the heavy head against the Phantomtail's and knocking it aside like a fly.

It hit the wall and flopped to the ground, fading into nothingness as a ruby heart floated up into the air and vanished.

He looked back at Knexedy, concern flaring in his eyes, before he saw she was running back to help Syaxsal and Xavier fend off a team of Sargeants.

"Darxet, wake up! We need you!" Axbrem said into his ear. He looked around, saw her, and shook his head, pulling himself out of his stupor.

"Right. Let's go." he said. He pulled his hammer up over his shoulder again and went to help the others, ready for this fight to be over.

* * *

Xion screamed for all she was worth, plunging into darkness like she was. Her screams even reached the high corners of the ceiling as she struggled to find a handhold, a ledge, _something_ to stop her from falling to her death!

She suddenly felt herself sucked into a cold void and she froze, too scared to open her eyes. The coldness lasted for only a moment and the next thing she knew, she was sprawled out on the ground, gasping for breath.

She looked up through a blurry haze and saw two dark figures slowly coming into clarity, backed by the ominously dark ceiling of the room. One had dark green, wavy hair and the other had painfully familiar red spikes...

"Axel! Xylle!" she exclaimed, sitting up. Xylle fell to the ground next to her and stared into her eyes, too numb to do much.

"Xion!" Axel exclaimed as he wrapped the girl in a one-armed hug. "You're alive! Thank Kingdom Hearts!"

"I know, I know, but..._how_?" Xion asked, confused, "One minute I was falling out of the sky and the next I'm on the ground!"

"That was me." Xylle murmured, "I transported you back here while you were falling...one of the perks of having space as your element, I guess."

Xion looked into her partner's eyes for moment before she grasped her in a hug.

"Thanks, Xylle! I'd...I'd probably be dead right now if it weren't for you." she murmured.

Xylle blinked and returned the hug, however awkwardly, and mumbled, "It wasn't anything."

Axel sat back and watched the two friends reunite with a soft smile on his face. Until he remembered what last thing he had to do and he grimaced, standing up.

"That's all good...but we still have to find Ax...Axille." there was a kind of uneasy hesitancy on the word "Axille," something the other two didn't understand.

"What's wrong, Ax?" Xion asked as she stood up.

"I..." Axel's green eyes met her blues and he shook his head, forcing a smile. "It...It was nothing. Come on, we have to find her."

Xylle tilted her head questioningly to one side but said nothing, merely following along in their wake as Axel led them out into the next room, and on to the final encounter.


	13. Part V: In-Fighting

Roxas drew his Keyblade from the darkness and glared hatefully at the Heartless attacking his friends. He made a move to go forward but a heavy hand descended upon his shoulder and forced him back.

Confused, the Key looked up into the bright yellow eyes of Saix, who shook his head.

"Leave them to it, number XIII." he said dryly, "They have things well under control."

"But Saix, they're—"

"Saix is right, Roxas." Xaldin said, piercing the boy with his glowing violet gaze, "The neophytes seem perfectly capable of fighting off the Heartless without us getting in the way."

"But—" Roxas drifted off, turning to watch the younger members fight.

Demyx pushed through the group of Nobodies and stood at Roxas' shoulder. From the look on his face, he was just as concerned as the Key was.

"Wonder what they're up to..." Larxene murmured.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What?" Saix asked sharply.

"I said: I wonder what they're up to." Larxene repeated, a bit louder this time.

"They're fighting. That's what they're up to." Xigbar responded cheekily.

Larxene sent him a glare and looked like she would snap but Saix cut between them. His attention was still trained on the Nymph as he spoke again, "What are you talking about?"

"It's just...weird, isn't it? Before they started fighting, they were deep in conversation about something." Larxene sent a meaningful glance around the group before continuing, "Then the Heartless showed up. Kind of...weird timing, don't you think?"

"But the Heartless are fighting _them_, not us." Roxas told her.

"I can see that, but how do we know it's not just a front?" Larxene asked him, sly poison dripping from her words, "How do we know that while we're watching them fight, they're not planning on sending an ambush at us?"

"They do not know how to create Heartless yet, Larxene." Luxord informed her.

"But how do we know they aren't in league with the person who started everything in the first place?" Larxene purred, "For all their brave words and fighting, it could very well have been a clever lie to lull us into a false sense of security."

"I dunno. It seems sort of sketchy to me." Demyx said, scratching his head.

Larxene shrugged.

"All I'm saying is that we ought to be careful and both our backs and the newbies. At this point, we can't afford to trust..._outsiders_. At this point, who can we trust...but ourselves?"

Everyone fell silent and returned their attention to the neophytes' fight, but Larxene noticed they were tenser than before, and some of them were drawing their weapons in secrecy.

Behind the group, Larxene did likewise; her knives appeared in her hands and she stiffened her posture, ready to spring should they be ambushed.

But—and she thanked Kingdom Hearts no one saw this—she couldn't help the tiniest smirk crossing her face as she stood at the back of her fellow Nobodies.

* * *

Darxet looked over at the other Nobodies at the back of the room, curious. They had been talking quietly for a while, and now they had their weapons drawn and were glaring at..._them?_

He stepped back from the fighting and wove through the ranks of the neophytes, seeking out Axbrem.

"Axbrem? Ax—oh, hey Xiyak." Darxet said as he was cut off by number XXIII. Something crossed over Darxet's light brown eyes. He grabbed Xiyak's arm and tore her away from the fighting, pulling over to a sheltered part of the room.

"Gah—Darxet, what do you want?" the Crusader snapped.

"That stuff you were saying earlier, about the Organization planning to betray us?" he asked her.

Immediately, Xiyak froze and looked at him, her curiosity peaked.

"Yes...?"

"Well...I didn't want to believe it, but I can't help thinking you might be right." he said uncomfortably, I just saw them talking to each other, and now they've got their weapons drawn and pointed at us."

He nodded towards where the other, older Nobodies were standing and as Xiyak turned to look, she did notice how fierce they seemed.

"I told you so." she said, "Quick, let's get everyone together and beat the last of the Heartless back. If we're going down tonight, they're coming with us."

Darxet nodded and slipped away to the other side of the room, while Xiyak went in the opposite direction. Many whispered words and head-nods were exchanged between neophyte and neophyte, with a few heated protests thrown in, but soon it seemed everyone was in agreement.

They increased their fighting until they were chased away the last Shadow and an uneasy silence settled over the room.

Tempers flared as the neophytes and the Nobodies turned to face each other. Everyone had their weapons out now, and in some cases, their elements dancing around them.

How far away the Halloween party seemed now.

* * *

"Quick, this way!" Axel hissed as he led Xion and Xylle through progressively narrower passages and hallways. Xion had long since lost sense of direction, and so just clung to Axel's cloak and followed him through the dark Wing. Xylle kept a good pace behind them, keeping her eyes fixed on the small ball of fire Axel was using as a torch.

"Axel, where are we?" Xion murmured as he stopped for the tenth time and inspected the wall.

"I think this was the dungeon. Yeah...it used to be like a real medieval castle before the changes. Like something you'd read in a fairy tale or something." Axel said as he reached out his free hand and pushed on a tile in the wall. It had been protruding somewhat and when he pressed on it, it receded back into the wall.

Like a scene from an old adventure movie, the three stepped back as the wall turned on itself and opened a passageway into the next room. Xion thought it was very exciting, but Xylle and Axel only wanted to make it out of this alien territory _alive_.

"Through here, is called the Heart's Containment. It's the first level of the dungeon here; five levels down and we'll be at the place where Axille should be." Axel informed them.

"Okay. Let's hurry." Xylle nodded.

The three "adventurers" stepped into the menacing darkness that yawned from the hidden corridor, onward to rescue their missing maiden.

* * *

Zexion jabbed impatiently at the keys of his computer, seething. With all of the programs it had opened up, the computer was running unbelievably slowly and they were missing out on possibly _valuable_ data!

"Anything yet?" Vexen snapped as he returned from his watch. The three had agreed that, while the Creator was to be left alone, Vexen and Lexaeus would take turns monitoring the creature while Zexion tried to compute a way around it.

"Not yet." Zexion muttered, "Not much anyways, with that great blob interfering with the computer's connection to the Castle's main computer. If you would only let me close—"

"No!" Vexen exclaimed, horrified, "If you close anything, we might lose even more data than we already are! Just find a way to fix that thing and get on with it. Or, if you don't feel you can, I'll take over. I have the experience of years and years of hard work and dedication behind me, boy, while you only have a few at most."

That was it.

Zexion snapped the laptop closed and stood up, glaring furiously up at Vexen as he snarled out a reply.

"Look here, _Number IV_." he hissed, accenting Vexen's rank and number, "In this scientific madhouse you call a laboratory, you are the traditional brains, and I am the technological brains. You stick to stirring your concoctions and cold medicines, and let me deal with the engineering. That is how things have been running for years, and that is how it will stay."

Vexen let out a noise somewhere between a scream and a growl and lunged for the boy, drawing his Shield as he did. Zexion's eyes blazed as he readied his laptop and aimed, preparing to strike.

**Clang!**

Steel met steel as Vexen's shield and Zexion's laptop both collided with a very big, very heavy, very metal weapon. They broke away and looked up to see Lexaeus looming over the both of them, not lifting his sword.

"Number V, move your weapon aside. I must teach this_ little boy_ over here a lesson in respect." Vexen snapped. Lexaeus shook his head and disarmed Vexen with a simple, nonchalant flick of his axe sword, sending Frozen Pride spinning away from him. The blue instrument hit the wall and disappeared with hardly a clatter.

Vexen and Zexion stepped away from each other; neither wanted to antagonize the Silent Hero while he was in a foul mood. Lexaeus noticed that Zexion seemed a bit awkward in his walk as he stalked away to the back of the room, but did not bring the matter to light.

"We do not need to fight amongst ourselves." Lexaeus growled, "We, along with the rest of the Organization, are in a big enough mess as it is, without us killing each other over the slightest disagreement."

Oh, if only he knew how ironic that statement actually was.

* * *

Knexedy stood back with a few other neophytes as they watched the two sides square off. Dismay clouded her eyes and she shook her head, begging for this to end, for something to magically happen so they wouldn't have to fight each other.

"This isn't right!" Leixym exclaimed, clutching Axbrem's sleeve. The Archer nodded and laid a hand on Knexedy's shoulder, showing they were with her. Xisel, Xavier, and Kyrox stood by, waiting.

No words were shared as Larxene and Saix launched towards the group first. Xiyak's "group," consisting of Amenxtthe, Anix, Syaxsal, Cavex, and Darxet, were the first to meet them.

Knexedy and her own little squadron didn't want to get involved, but they had no choice as Xaldin and Luxord dashed towards them.

Chaos reigned as mentor and apprentice fought blade-for-blade, element-for-element as the two sides went all out.

Xigbar and Darxet locked gazes as they prepared to take the first attacks on each other.

"And to think I actually _helped_ you this morning!" Xigbar spat, "Traitor!"

"You're the traitor!" Darxet roared, hefting his hammer. His element, fear, was treacherously useless in this situation, but his hammer was still heavy.

Similar arguments were erupting all over the battlefield; Anix called Saix out for leaving him to the Avalanche on his first mission, and now for betraying him _again_.

"You hardly deserve any sympathy from me, number XXV." Saix growled, his voice dangerously calm.

Knexedy lifted her sword into the air and crashed it against the tile of the floor, sending an explosion rippling through the room as flames leaped up and went at the Nobodies. Axbrem crouched beside her, firing arrows not to injure, but to deflect and distract the older Organization. Leixym was doing similar with her own sword, sending waves of saltwater smashing into the Organization, forcing them back.

"Fight, you cowards!" Larxene crowed as she sent a knife, crackling with electricity, their way. Axbrem took aim and fired, meeting the knife halfway and effectively stopping its acceleration. Arrow and knife bounced harmlessly away from each other and landed on the floor, where they promptly disappeared and reappeared in their owner's hand and quiver.

"Coward yourself, Larxene!" Xavier shouted, twirling her staff like a baton, "Come here and fight me, mano y mano!"

Larxene obliged, hurling herself at the daring individual. Kyrox made a move to help her, but Axbrem pushed him back and said, "She doesn't need us."

Kyrox nodded and threw himself back into battle, but Axbrem, alone and not being targeted by anyone, melted into the background. She slipped along the fringes of the fight and soon found who she was looking for, sitting in the background, doing much of what her own fighting troupe had done; dodging, resisting, but not attacking.

"I need to talk to you." she said grimly.

* * *

Axel, Xion and Xylle in tow, shuffled down the corridor that led to the final basement of Heart's Containment. The corridor was pitch black and freezing, and the two girls had to huddle very close to Axel to keep the light on their faces and the warmth on their skin.

"Here, put your hoods up." Axel suggested, pulling his own up, "They'll keep you warm."

Xylle and Xion obliged, and stood back as Axel bent towards the lock. He gave it an experimental shove but pulled back, annoyed.

"No dice. Can you work some Keyblade magic on it and open the door?" he asked, turning around to Xion. She nodded tentatively and held out her hand, waiting for the Keyblade to come. In a flash of bright white light, it did, and the black-haired girl stood back. She held her arm up so the Keyblade tip was pointed at the lock and for a moment, nothing happened, and Axel thought he had brought them down here for nothing. But then, like a little candle slowly growing, light began to form at the tip of Xion's key. A beam of light blossomed from the key and went into the keyhole, where a few tumblers later, it opened.

The door swung open with surprising ease as the three headed through it. To help them see, Axel increased the glare on his fireball and looked around the room, straining for the darkness to become clear.

Weak coughing greeted his anxious ears and he stiffened, running towards it. Xylle and Xion ran after him, keeping their guiding light in sight.

As they ran, Xion became dimly aware of how far they seemed to be running. How big was this dungeon anyways? From the surprised hiss behind her, she could tell Xylle was thinking the same thing.

The coughing grew louder and louder, and soon numbers XIV and XXVI didn't need Axel to guide them; they could just follow the sounds of the coughing.

Axel's fire had stopped by now, and from the way it was moving, the girls thought he had found something. But as they got closer, they heard a high-pitched, desperate voice scream out into the darkness, "No! It's a trap!"

Right as they were warned, the room exploded into dazzling, blinding white light. Xylle and Xion were thrown backwards with the shock and they tumbled to the ground in a black mess, their cloaks entangling themselves up with each other. Their visions went hazy, blurred, and spotty as they recovered from almost being blinded and when their vision had cleared, they looked up into the faces of the puppetmasters of the show.

Xion gasped, and Xylle's eyes went wide.

"It was _you_ all along?" they exclaimed.

* * *

The fighting in the Hall of Empty Melodies had taken a drastic turn for the worst. Now fighting back in desperation, the two sides split into three as Nobodies made their hasty decisions about where their loyalties lied and went to fight for them.

"Roxas, Demyx, I know you two don't like this fighting as much as I do." Axbrem said hastily to her two companions, "But please, _please_, you _have_ to find a way to get them to stop! We're getting nowhere with just killing each other!"

Roxas nodded gravely, "No, we aren't. We'll try, Axbrem, but Demyx and I aren't the most...respected members here."

Demyx sighed sadly, "We'll try, but no promises."

Axbrem nodded, clasping their gloved hands briefly as she looked them in the eye.

"Thank you for trying." she said.

A second later, she was gone.

"C'mon Dem, we've got a battle to stop." Roxas said as he pulled his Keyblade out of the darkness and threw himself back into battle. Demyx took out his sitar and followed his younger friend, eager to end it.

Meanwhile, Axbrem had returned to her own group, who were now packed closely together, defending themselves from attack. She jumped into the center of them and everyone leaned in to hear what she had to say.

"Roxas and Demyx don't like this fight either; they're trying to put an end to it. What we need to do, is target the weakpoints of the fight and take them down." she said, "Knexedy and Kyrox, you go see if you can convince Darxet and Xiyak to call it off and surrender. Leixym, you're with me; we're going to try and disable their frontmen, Xaldin, Luxord, and Xigbar. Xavier and Xisel, aim for the back and try to separate Saix from Larxene. Good luck guys, be careful."

Nodding, her group pairs rushed off to do what they were assigned to do, leaving Leixym and Axbrem alone. The noise of battle was roaring in their ears as Axbrem drew an arrow and aimed at Xaldin's hands, and Leixym summoned her sword to shoot at Luxord.

"You hit 'em low, I'll hit 'em high!" Axbrem told her companion as she fired off the arrow.

* * *

Xaldin dropped his lances in shock and pain as a flaming arrow embedded itself in his sleeve. Ripping it out, he threw the projectile across the room and summoned his lances to him again, pointing their heads at Axbrem.

"You'll pay for that you insolent child!" he snarled, but before he could do anything, a small, feathered body barreled out of nowhere and smacked into his face. Small, sharp claws embedded themselves in his face and a tiny, pointed beak stabbed him mercilessly as fearless Belxeo attacked. Amenxtthe was on the scene in an instant and she called Belxeo back to her with a whistle. She held her staff ready as Xaldin wiped the blood off of his face and looked to see his neophyte glaring distastefully at him.

Their eyes locked for a moment and Xaldin pulled back, shaking his head.

"No, not worth it." he muttered, before turning around and disappearing into the fray. Amenxtthe watched him go with a pang of pseudo-sadness attacking her, but she pushed it away. Belxeo squawked defiantly as they ducked a blow from Saix's Claymore and they were thrown back into battle.

Xigbar disappeared from Darxet a moment before his apprentice's hammer could swipe and imbalance him. The Freeshooter appeared upside down on the ceiling, took aim, and fired a furious salvo of arrows at the teen on the floor below. Darxet held up one of the ends of his hammer to deflect them, but the protection was minimal; he was still cut badly from the attack.

Cavex appeared at his side and without a word, handed him a potion. Darxet stared at it for a moment before looking back up to thank the healer, but she was gone.

Shrugging, he uncorked the potion bottle and downed it, feeling his strength flooding back to him as he looked around and waited for Xigbar to reappear.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." he called mockingly.

"I'm right behind you." a voice whispered into his ear.

He whirled around just in time to see Xigbar's eye glowing with the ferocity of a Behemoth before an arrowgun shot to the head knocked him out cold.

* * *

Xiyak saw Darxet fall and felt a cold rage rising within her. Releasing a scream of frustration, she jumped at Xigbar and managed to land a few hard blows with her steel knuckles before Xigbar could warp away.

She was about to lunge after the empty space before hands from behind dragged her back. She hit the floor and flailed, her knuckles reaching out to punch anyone who came near her until she saw it was Knexedy and Kyrox who had grabbed her.

"What the—what are you two doing?" she screamed.

"Xiyak, call it off!" Knexedy exclaimed, "Call off the fight! No one has to get hurt if you just surrender!"

"Coward!" Xiyak exclaimed, leaping to her feet, "Fight back! Why are you standing here, waiting for them to betray you? It's obvious that they will!"

"No, they won't." Kyrox said firmly, "You're just paranoid, they're just paranoid, this is all one big misunderstanding."

"Ridiculous. I'm not paranoid, I'm just trying to keep people safe." Xiyak said.

"By throwing them into battle?" Kyrox seethed.

"The ends justifies the means, Kyrox!" Xiyak exclaimed, "Once the fight is over and we win, we'll win _everything_."

"We'll _lose_ everything, too." Knexedy said, "All of our friendships, our bonds, our trust...it'll all be gone."

"We don't need any trust beyond our fellow neophytes." Xiyak assured her. Without waiting for a reply, she turned back around and threw herself into the fighting once more.

Kyrox and Knexedy could only stare, frustrated, after her, but they made no move to chase. It was hopeless; Xiyak truly seemed to believe that she would gain so much from beating the Nobodies.

* * *

With a hopeless sigh, Zexion closed his laptop. It had by now frozen, and he had nothing available to fix it with.

Vexen looked over at the younger Nobody and briefly considered rubbing his failure into his face, but made no move to get up. Lexaeus, sitting on the wall opposite, burned with the relentless frustration of being completely immobile throughout this entire ordeal. But he knew he wasn't the only one suffering.

Zexion folded his hands in his lap and looked despondently up at the ceiling, undoubtedly trying to smell where the others were, if any others were left. But the overpowering odor of the Creator was too much to bear and he put his head back down with a sigh. Vexen too, seemed to have lost all of his arrogance from before and looked ready to lay down and die. Lexaeus wasn't doing much better.

_Kingdom Hearts...is this our end?_ he wondered.

* * *

Xylle and Xion stared up, disbelieving, into the faces they saw before them. One was wreathed in fluffy pink hair and the other, framed by silverish-white locks. The two Nobodies looked down at Xylle and Xion with barely disguised humor in their eyes, as they waited for the girls to collect themselves.

"Marluxia...?" Xylle asked, standing up slowly.

"And...Superior? _You_ set the Heartless on everyone?" Xion asked, confused.

"Yes. We did." Marluxia said.

"Not without some help!" Axel, who was not far away, protested. They looked around to where Axel was busy untying Axille, who looked surprisingly relaxed for what she had been through.

"Axille! You're safe!" Xion exclaimed, running towards her. Axille barely had time to react before Xion had her off of the ground and in her arms, squeezing the life out of her.

"Gkh! I'm glad to see you too, Xion!" Axille said happily, "Betcha didn't see that one coming, didja?"

"You mean, you were in on it too?" Xylle asked, staring at the girl.

Axille rolled her eyes at Axel and shook her head.

"Well, not at first. At first, after Axel yelled at me and I ran off, Superiore found me and said I might be able to help him. That was kinda when the truth came out, but I was fine. He told me he, and some others, had started the Heartless invasion to—"

"That's quite enough, Axille." Marluxia said sternly, "Come here, you silly girl."

Axille turned around and ran back to Marluxia, clinging to his cloak. She cast a funny grin Xylle and Xion's way but stayed put as Axel started talking.

"But this crazy crew isn't full yet," he said, "our last party guest should be arriving..."

"I'm here."

They all looked around to see Zexion slinking out of a portal towards them, looking tired but alert.

"The last of the illusory Heartless have been destroyed, Superior." he said to Xemnas, "The only exception being the Creator, which is still busy entertaining numbers IV, V, and Illusion-Zexion."

Axel made a face.

"Man, Vexen's slow!" he laughed, "Woo, if only he knew he'd been busy screaming at an illusion all day!"

"He never _will_ know, number VIII." Zexion snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Xion and Xylle were struggling to catch up until Xylle finally shouted, "Will you tell me what you're talking about?"

Zexion looked over at the two and seemed to notice them for the first time.

"Did you two enjoy your romp through the castle's abandoned hallways?" he asked dryly.

"Er...they were kind of spooky. But exciting, anyways." Xion said, nodding warily.

Axille piped up again.

"I _know_!" she exclaimed, "I couldn't believe it when Marly and Axey brought me through here! I wanted to go off everywhere and look around _everywhere_..."

"But if we had let you, you would probably be running blindly out a window right now." Marluxia said, reaching down to grip the child's hood with long, spidery fingers.

"Oh and Superior?" Zexion said suddenly, calling Xemnas' attention to him, "I just went by the Hall of Empty Melodies (concealed of course). It appears that everyone is fighting each other, seeking to eliminate themselves. Should we be concerned?"

Xemnas shook his head, but stopped and swept his gaze thoughtfully over the crew, but mostly targeting the younger members. The wheels turned in his mind as he looked them up and down.

"I'm afraid you have seen too much today." he said. Confused, Xylle and Xion looked at each other, very aware of how silent the room had become.

They looked up again to see Xemnas holding out a gloved hand to them, with dark magic circling around it in an ominous ring. There was a flash, and the next thing anyone knew, numbers XIV and XXVI's eyes widened and they crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Horrorstruck, Axille clung to Marluxia's leg. She had been watching the whole scene intently, and stiffened up when she felt the Assassin gently pulling her away from his leg. She was pushed out to be in front of Xemnas and she gazed up at him fearfully, watching the magic gathering again.

"Sorry Axille." she heard Axel say, "But we can't risk anyone finding out."

A blinding white burn of light later, and Axille was unconscious beside the others.

"Get them out of here." Xemnas barked, after ensuring they were good and knocked out. "As for the rest of you, slip into the fighting and break it apart, but give _nothing_ of today's events away. If I hear so much as a whisper, you shall be erased."

The three others nodded and took a girl each, dragging them to their rooms through a few portals.

Left alone, Xemnas killed the lights in Heart's Containment and slipped through a portal of his own, on his way to quell the fighting that had sprung up in his Order.

* * *

Axel slipped into the fighting and sought out Roxas and Demyx. He was surprised to see how violent things had become, and he quickened his search for his friends.

But after a few minutes of ducking and dodging blind attacks from both sides, Axel faded to the sidelines and watched from afar, dismayed.

"Great, _now_ how do I find them?" he muttered.

His answer was given in the form of a tight, rope-like object being strung around his neck and jerked backwards, causing the Flurry to fall back and hit the marble floor hard.

He flailed as the unseen enemies dragged him backwards and he tried summoning his chakrams, to find his arms had been skillfully pinned to his side where he couldn't use them. As he struggled, he felt his body becoming tied down more and more with each movement and he growled in frustration.

"Talk, you No—oh Axel, it's you."

Axel froze and stared angrily up at the the familiar, narrowed green eyes of Axbrem. She stepped back and Xisel appeared, moving her hands around. Looking around, Axel saw Alice the doll floating towards him; his blood ran cold when he saw the little puppet was holding a pair of black scissors.

His eyes widened and he panicked, shouting, "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I yelled at Axille! No need to cut me, geez!"

He shut his eyes tight and tensed, waiting for the blade. But instead, he heard an innocent little snip and he suddenly had control of his limbs again. Looking up again, he saw a thin thread trailing from the scissors as Alice returned to Xisel. Axel stood up and glared haughtily at the puppetmaster, but he couldn't see her eyes and he looked away.

"That's not what we were going for, but hey—you're forgiven!" Leixym said as she stepped back.

"_What_ is going on here?" Axel exclaimed, gesturing to the grouped Nobodies, "Why is everyone after everyone else's blood?"

"It's Xiyak." Axbrem said grimly, "She's gone completely insane! She thinks that you older Nobodies are out to destroy us and so she's out trying to destroy _them_. And based on what Roxas and Demyx have told us, the others are thinking the same thing. No one's listening to reason or willing to see sense, so we've been hiding out here until we can figure something out."

Axel scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

"Man...if Mansex were here, he'd make everyone stop." he muttered.

The neophytes (plus Roxas and Demyx) immediately looked distressed.

"Yes..." Oz murmured, "Everyone listens to the Superior. _He'd_ stop the fighting..."

"If only he were here." Knexedy sighed as she dropped to the ground.

"If only." Xavier echoed.

Kyrox looked from one person to the next, his hands clenched until they were white and his palms were bleeding, but even _he_ could see the dawning hopelessness of the situation.

"What do we do?" Roxas murmured, "The Organization's falling apart."

"We can't fight...we'd be hurting our friends." Oz said, "And we can't sit back and not fight...then our friends hurt each other."

"It feels like we're caught between a rock and a hard place." Axbrem deadpanned.

Axel sighed and sat back, his dark green gaze shifting from one face to the other.

"There's got to be a way." he said encouragingly, "There's _always_ a way."

Demyx studied the ceiling thoughtfully before he dared venture a suggestion.

"Well, y'know...me an' Xigbar are pretty close...maybe I could try persuading him to stop if I went and talked to him." he said hesitantly.

"Yes...and Anix and I are still friends; perhaps our friendships will win out?" Kyrox mused.

"Xiyak and I were pretty close at one time." Xavier said gruffly, "Maybe she'll stop being a bonehead and remember."

"That's more like it." Axel said approvingly, "Why don't you guys go try again, and I'll see if I can't soften up some of the guys on the 'older' side, eh?"

They all leaped to their feet, their old hope rekindled thanks to the Flurry; the neophytes drew their weapons and slipped off into the mayhem, while Demyx and Roxas separated to try their luck elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Axel looked around before sliding back onto "his" side of the fighting. He knew Xemnas would be there soon...he just had to bide his time and make sure no one got killed.

* * *

Zexion slipped down into the basement while Vexen and Lexaeus were sharing a watch. His illusion was starting to wear out from time, so he dismissed the fake-Zexion and smoothly took its place, looking up, unaffected, when Vexen came back.

"Can't you do _something_ on that infernal contraption of yours?" he snapped, his weariness from the stressful day making him more irritable than normal.

"I already am." Zexion replied simply, "After running a few more tests, I found that the Creator has _just_ enough electrical signals for me to tap into and manipulate from my computer. In fact..."

He paused and bent over his laptop, flicking his finger lazily across the trackpad as he activated the program. He pressed the ENTER key on the keyboard and there was silence for a moment, before Lexaeus came running back down.

"The Creator is moving!" he announced. Zexion stood up and carried his laptop with him, leading the two older Nobodies to the blob as he continued to work at his computer.

"Ah...it acts as a virus." he murmured, "I can counter that easily."

And indeed, after about six minutes of typing, clicking, and messing with the keyboard, the Creator shriveled up on the steps and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Vexen and Lexaeus stood, mouths agape, as they watched Zexion nonchalantly climb the stairs to get out of the basement.

"_Why_ didn't you do that _before_?" Vexen asked, after he had gotten over his surprise.

"I had to create the appropriate software. I was almost done two hours ago, when _someone_ forced me to shut down my programs to deal with a useless fight!" Zexion snapped.

Vexen looked away, momentarily sheepish, as they ran up the stairs and migrated to the Hall of Empty Melodies.

Inwardly, Zexion breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure how effective the lie would be to the Academic, but he was pleased to see he seemed to be buying it.

Lexaeus trailed along behind, guarding the rear of the group. He had a very thoughtful expression on his face as he wondered about Zexion's sudden defeat of the Creator.

_Something_ was just _very_ wrong here...

* * *

Xigbar looked around for the next Nobody to fight when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He spun around, pointing his guns at whatever it was, only to see it was Demyx, looking up at him with big teal eyes.

"Whaddya want, kid?" the Freeshooter asked.

"You need to stop fighting, Xig!" Demyx exclaimed.

Xigbar was taken aback. He stared at the Nocturne before him, his surprise bright in his eye.

"What?" he snapped, "Is there something stuck up in your brain?"

"No." Demyx said stubbornly, "You _need_ to quit fighting! Look around, Xig! You're hurting the neophytes, the neophytes are hurting you...eventually, if we don't stop, we're _all_ going to end up dead!"

"They're traitors, Dem." Xigbar said, "It's our job to kill traitors."

"But Xemnas has the 'No Killing Neophytes' policy, remember? You even told Darxet that on your first mission with him! You said that you weren't allowed to kill neophytes! Are you going back on that now?" Demyx challenged the older Nobody.

"There's an exception in that for traitors, kid." Xigbar growled.

"What proof do you have that they're traitors?" Demyx asked him, "Besides your own paranoia, that is."

"The Heartless." Xigbar said simply.

"How could they be behind the Heartless?" Demyx scoffed, "They can't summon them, and they've all, more or less, been with us all day. Either us, or someone else."

Xigbar sighed and put his guns away, staring at the little twerp before him with a twisted frown. Of all the...

"Fine." he said, "I'll stop. _For now,_" he added, catching the look on Demyx's face, "But if I catch so much as a _whisper_ of treachery, I'm spiking them on the tips of my arrows. Got it?"

Demyx nodded, smiling widely. "Got it!"

As the two disappeared into the crowd to dissuade some others, Xigbar was looking around the room with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Actually, come to think of it...this was a pretty stupid fight, wasn't it?" he asked.

Demyx rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Finally you realize that!" he crowed.

* * *

When the "A-Team," as Axel so affectionately called Axbrem's group, had convened again, they were pleased to see at least a _few_ faces that had traded sides. Xigbar, Anix, and Luxord now huddled together with the group as they discussed.

"Okay, so what's the roll now?" Axbrem asked. Knexedy looked around, counting off people as she went.

"Okay there's Xigbar, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Roxas, Kyrox, Xisel, Me, Leixym, Xavier, Axbrem, and Anix here. That means they have Xaldin, Saix, Marluxia, Larxene, Amenxtthe, Xiyak, Syaxsal, Cavex, and Darxet. We're up by three, but numbers don't necessarily win wars." she said.

"It's really stupid that they're fighting just each other now." Leixym said, "I'm wondering when they figure out that—"

"Traitors!"

Leixym stopped mid-sentence as the other side turned to face them, their differences momentarily forgotten.

Their side stood up and drew their weapons, ready to fight again should they need to, but before a blow could be landed, a light sound dissipated into the air. Everything went deathly quiet as twenty-one faces turned to look up at the figure who had appeared in the Hall.

* * *

Zexion swept ahead of his little group as they ran out into the Hall of Empty Melodies. And...what a sight greeted them there!

Xemnas stood on one of the balconies that overlooked the arena, and neophytes and Nobodies alike were staring up at him, eyes tired but intense. Their weapons were drawn and Zexion could see they were split raggedly down the middle, like two sides in a war.

He made a "shh" motion to Vexen and Lexaeus, coming up behind him, as Xemnas began to speak.

"My friends," he said, "what has become of you? Merely yesterday, were you not all friends and partners, perfectly at peace? What has torn my Order apart in such a small space of time, I wonder..."

"The Heartless!" a high, clear voice rang through the room. All heads turned to see Larxene standing boldly at the front, her eyes gleaming. "Someone set a siege of Heartless on us! It was obviously someone in the Organization, but who knows who it was...?"

Xemnas tilted back his head and closed his eyes, as if praying for patience. However, when he let his head fall again, his gaze was unfazed as a slow smile crept into his face and he spread his arms wide.

"But Heartless...do we not fight Heartless every day?" he asked, "Why should you react so violently to an attack, even _if_ you were caught off-guard? And what makes you so sure it was not just an unfortunate event, instead of a planned attack?"

_He's very good at this,_ Zexion thought, _if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was just as clueless as the rest of them._

Larxene didn't have a reply, but she didn't back down either. She set to searching her Superior's face for a sign or signal that he knew something she didn't. But she saw nothing on the emotionless face as he went on.

"I understand how tired you all must be." he said, "And that fatigue has led you to be irrational and your minds to be clouded. Rest, my friends. After you have rested and regained your better judgment, you will see how foolish this senseless fighting truly was. Please, lay down your arms and go to your beds; rest for the next three days and then you will feel much better."

Zexion twitched his ears as he listened to Xemnas' speech. This kind of generosity was very uncharacteristic of him...

_I wonder what he's doing?_

But, much to his surprise, he saw that Axbrem's group was the first to dismiss their weapons. After a brief moment of hesitation, the other side did likewise. An awkward silence passed in which Xemnas took a portal to his office and the opposing sides looked warily at the other, still tense.

However, the tension dissolved when Zexion caught sight of Xisel and Knexedy saw Vexen. A shout of joy erupted from the black-haired girl as she dashed over and attacked Vexen with a throttling hug. Vexen staggered under the sudden weight of his neophyte and he eventually pushed her off, glaring at her.

"Vexen! You're alive!" Knexedy exclaimed.

"Apparently I am, Knexedy." Vexen said. Knexedy made a face and playfully punched the scientist in the arm.

"Come on, Vexen!" she complained, "I _told_ you to call me Kennie!"

Vexen sighed and Zexion left him to it as he walked towards Xisel. Heavy footsteps beside him warned him of Lexaeus' presence but the hulking Nobody soon veered away to check up on Syaxsal.

Roxas watched the goings-on and antics of the two groups in confusion. Darxet and Xigbar were laughing together like old times, Anix and Saix had lost their former hostility towards each other and were talking quietly, and Xavier had gone back to pestering Marluxia. It was like the entire fight to the death hadn't even happened!

"This is weird." he murmured to Axel.

"Yeah, no kidding." his friend said. "Hey by the way, want to know where Axille is?"

Roxas brightened up and he nodded, "Yes! Where is she, Axel? I've been worried sick all day!"

"She's up in your room. I think she was ambushed and knocked unconscious; I found her up by the View." Axel told him.

Roxas held up a hand and tried opening a portal, hoping it would work. At first, there was nothing, and then the familiar swirling doorway opened up before him. Dimly, he recalled Xemnas had come in by way of a corridor, and figured that it had become useable again when Xemnas performed it.

"I'll see you later, Axel." Roxas said, waving his friend goodbye. Axel waved before going back to a conversation with Axbrem, Demyx, and Leixym.

The Flurry listened to the idle buzz of the Nobodies fill his ears and he couldn't help a small frown. Despite all the happy faces and forgiving words, and the expressions of joy that the fighting was over, he could still sense a lingering distrust rising from the older and younger Nobodies.

A grim thought crossed his mind as he looked around the room, watching.

_We're far from over._


	14. Something Very Wrong

Roxas was sitting on his bed, flipping through a book, when noises from the opposite side of the room disturbed him. He looked up and saw movement under the covers of Axille's bed and immediately, he dropped the book and ran over.

The blankets went flying as Axille jerked awake and sat up, almost hurting herself in the process. Her eyes were huge as she looked around, confused.

"Heartless! Where are the Heartless?" she exclaimed. She made a move to get up but found herself pushed back by Roxas, who gently eased her down onto her bed.

"Hey easy, Axille." he said, "The Heartless are gone. You were attacked on Twilight's View and knocked unconscious; it's been a whole day you were out. You need to rest."

"Huh...?"

Axille looked around, her eyes betraying her confusion. Surely she hadn't...she didn't remember...!

"But I...I don't remember being attacked on the View..." she murmured. Roxas smiled sympathetically and flicked some hair out of her eyes.

"You must have forgotten while you were out. Don't worry, I don't think you'd want to remember an attack like that anyways." he said.

But Axille wouldn't be discouraged so easily. "I only remember Axel yelling at me and then I ran off! I don't remember _anything_ about an attack on the View!" she insisted.

Roxas' expression changed from sympathetic to stern as he frowned at the child.

"Listen, Axille, it was a rough day yesterday. Take it easy." he told her. Axille recognized the authority in his voice and settled back on her pillow; frowning, she crossed her arms in a pout but said nothing more.

Roxas relaxed and ruffled her hair affectionately, saying, "Why don't I go get us some breakfast?"

"No!" Axille said, sitting up abruptly, "I want to see everyone, and make sure everyone's okay!"

She jumped off of the bed but wavered upon landing, causing Roxas to put a hand on her back to steady her.

"See? You're in no condition to be running around." he told her.

"Roxy..." Axille whined, "Please? I promise I'll behave!"

Roxas sighed. Axille was _such_ a child sometimes.

"Alright, alright." he said, taking her hand, "But if you keel over unconscious don't come crying to me."

He opened a dark corridor and led her through it, keeping one eye on the recovering kid at all times.

* * *

When they left the darkness, the kitchen was abuzz with activity. The entire Organization had convened in the large dining area and were talking amiably with one another, but right away Axille could sense the strained tension underneath the chatter.

"Roxy, what happened?" she asked, looking around confusedly.

Roxas was saved from answering by the loud calls from one side of the room.

"Hey guys, over here!"

The two partners looked around to see Axbrem, Axel, and Leixym and Demyx waving them over. At a nod from Roxas, Axille went running while Roxas waved at them and headed to the kitchen to get some food. Axel made some room for the fifteenth member to jump up onto the chair but she hesitated before him, looking up at him with wary eyes.

Axel sighed and reached out a hand to the kid.

"Sorry for yelling at you, Axille." he said, "Forgive me?"

Axille's golden-brown eyes closed for a moment before she opened them again and beamed up at the redhead.

"I forgive you, Axel!" she said, then pulled herself up onto the chair.

The momentary tension dissolved and Axille found herself, along with Xion and Xylle, bombarded with questions and statements as their comrades filled them in in all they had missed. Xion was very vocal with her opinions on the whole Neophyte/Nobody argument but Xylle and Axille were quieter.

"Wait...you said the Heartless in the second attack were only targeting _us_, as in the neophytes?" Xylle asked.

Axbrem nodded.

"Yeah." she said, "It was weird."

Xylle's brow furrowed in thought and she fell silent, thinking things over while Axille looked from person to person, catching everything but not quite sure about what it all meant. Surely her friends wouldn't attack each other like that? Surely it was just a dream, or something such?

Something clicked in the kid's mind and she suddenly broke out into a half-smile. The Trouper turned away to take in the scene of the room, hiding it.

But Leixym noticed her grin and asked, "What's so funny, Axille?"

Axille shook her head and said, "Nothing, Ly! I just hope everything can clear up soon!"

Her voice carried with it the slightest hint of condescending sympathy, but no one seemed to notice it as Roxas came back with two pieces of toast on a plate.

"Everyone's really tense." he said mournfully, dropping the plate on the table, "I wish we could fix this."

Axel shook his head while Axille took some toast and bit into it. The redhead looked around at his younger group and sighed.

"I wish we could fix this _before_ someone gets hurt." he said.

Axille suddenly waved her hand, attracting attention to her as she finished her toast and stated her own opinion.

"There's nothing _to_ fix!" she proclaimed, "Everyone was just tired out after all the attacks. No one was really thinking straight, right? It'll be fine, you'll see!"

Roxas sighed, wishing he could share in the child's optimism but he said, "You weren't at the attack yesterday, Axille. The _big_ one. If you had been, you'd see that it wasn't just the exhaustion."

Axille shook her head, "Nope! It was just the exhau...exhaustion. Nothing more! Be right back!"

She jumped off her chair and ran over to the other side of the room before anyone could stop her, leaving her usual companions behind to stare after her in stunned silence.

"Is she serious?" Axbrem asked around, "Does she _really_ think it wasn't anything more?"

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't..." Xylle murmured. Xion looked at her sharply.

"What?" the raven-haired girl asked.

Xylle shrugged.

"Maybe it was just all of the Heartless, maybe it wasn't. All we can do is sit back and wait." she said.

"You mean sit and wait for someone to get killed?" Axbrem asked her heatedly.

"No, not wait _that_ long." Xylle said carefully, "Just wait...and see what happens."

At that, Axille came bounding across the room with Saix coming along much more slowly. The young Nobody almost ran smack into Axel but Roxas managed to reach out and grab her in time.

"Number XV has just asked me when missions will begin again and I thought it fair to remind you all of the three-day leisure Superior gave you. But I hope that, when missions _do_ begin again, you all will share in her enthusiasm." Saix said, before turning on his heel to return to the other Nobodies.

All eyes turned to Axille and she stared back, unafraid, as she asked, "What? I thought work would help people forget."

"Forget? Why would we forget what happened so quickly?" Axbrem asked her.

Axille's expression changed from cheerful to serious as she replied, "Because! It was all because of the Heartless, nothing else! I don't know why you're so worried over nothing!"

With that, Axille stood up, pried herself away from Roxas, and darted over to the other side of the room, leaving her friends and mentor to stare after.

"Alright, you know what? Let her delude herself. I don't care." Axel growled, before standing up to make a portal, "I'll be in my room."

He left quickly, and the small group slowly dissolved as everyone left to be alone with their own thoughts.

* * *

Axille found herself sitting next to Kyrox and Anix as the older members talked about the previous day's events. For some reason, Zexion kept sending curious glances her way, but she pretended not to notice.

"So what do _you_ think about all of this, Saix?" Anix asked his teacher, who stood a slight ways away from the marble counter with his arms crossed.

"I think everyone is being ridiculous and we should get back to work as soon as we can." Saix replied, his voice its usual monotone drone.

"I dunno, Saix." Xigbar said from his seat across the counter, "I think the tension's too...tense. Maybe we should find a way to stop it, before someone gets hurt."

"And how do you propose we do that, Xigbar?" Xaldin asked snidely, "Or have you already thought of a likely endeavor?"

Xigbar glared at him before shaking his head, "As if. Just thinking out loud, man."

"Ideas or not, we can't sit back and allow ourselves to be slowly torn apart from the inside out." Xavier, who was sitting on Anix's other side, said heatedly.

Axille rolled her eyes at Xavier's comment and boldly stated, "You're all worrying over nothing. I agree with Saix; you're being silly and the sooner we get back to work, the sooner we forget this whole thing, and the better off we'll be."

Saix nodded and said, "At least the youngest among us has a clear head on her shoulders. You would do well to follow in her footsteps." Without further ado, he was gone.

Xigbar snorted as Axille sat down on the ground and leaned against the counter, obviously pleased with herself.

"Teacher's pet." he scoffed, but he didn't seem to be very mad.

"You shouldn't meddle in things that do not concern you, number XV." Xaldin told her darkly.

Axille stared after him as he stalked through a portal to his room and she shook her head, almost sadly.

No one else said anything has breakfast dissolved in the sounds of clinking plates and forks as each member put their dishes away. The population of the kitchen dwindled until it was only Xion, Xylle, Axille, and Roxas left. Xion, Xylle, and Roxas set to work cleaning the dishes (as part of their routine chores), leaving Axille to sit at the countertop to wait for Roxas.

"Roxas, you wash, I'll dry, Xylle puts away." Xion said as she picked up a dish towel.

"Heh...no. How about you wash, I dry, and Xylle puts away?" Roxas asked playfully, snatching the towel from her.

"No. I'm not getting wet this early in the morning!" Xion told him, making a move for the towel.

Xylle sighed heavily and watched the two go at it with soap and suds, getting into a ridiculous water-fight before she finally snapped.

"Enough! Roxas, you wash, Xion, you put away, and I'll dry." she growled, grabbing the towel and pushing the two apart to their stations. Roxas and Xion shook their heads but went to work, falling silent as the bucket-brigade-like system downed the amount of ware in the sink in a matter of minutes. All the while, Axille had been watching them with a puzzled expression. But it wasn't her friends that were vexing her.

Ever since Roxas had told her about this alleged "attack on Twilight's View" she had been trying to remember something of it, but there was just a big gap between running out of the Hall of Empty Melodies and waking up with Roxas over her. She didn't have the greatest memory, but she was certain she would at least remember being ambushed before. No, she knew that that big blank wasn't by accident. Then...what was it by?

"Hm...Hey Roxas? I'll see you later!" she told them, but she kept her voice down.

Roxas didn't hear her completely over the noise of the sink so he just waved and said, "Uh...yeah, Axille."

Axille nodded and got up, running out of the room before Roxas got a chance to see what she was doing.

Axille maneuvered her way through the abnormally crowded hallways to the Grey Area. With no work for a few days, everyone was busy doing things they usually didn't have time enough to. And with the numbers swelled to twenty-eight, there were a lot of people around.

Which was why she wasn't surprised to find the Grey Area one of the most crowded rooms of all. There were several people blocking the entrance but, using her small size, Axille pushed her way inside and looked around for someone in particular.

She found him, sitting on one of the armchairs with a book, trying his hardest to ignore the noises and chatter of the Nobodies around him. Zexion had been looking at her strangely during breakfast-maybe he knew something!

"Hey Zex, can I ask you something?" she asked, sitting down on the armrest of his chair. Zexion looked at her out of the corner of his eye and sighed.

"What do you want, number XV?" he questioned, not closing his book.

"I was just um...wondering! Where were you yesterday?" she asked bluntly. Zexion didn't reply for several moments before he sighed again.

"I was trapped in the basement with numbers IV and V. Why?"

"Because! Roxas said I got attacked by Heartless on the View but the thing is: I don't remember that! You were looking at me weird at breakfast so I wondered if you maybe knew something about that?" Axille asked innocently.

Zexion looked at her in a very annoyed way and she quailed, taking the hint and backing off.

"Uh...I'll just...go over here..." she stammered, dashing across the room and hiding behind Lexaeus, who had been talking to Axel.

Axel looked quizzically at the kid and asked, "What're you up to now?" He didn't seem upset with her anymore, which was a good thing.

Axille looked at him and relaxed, smiling as she said, "Just finding out what really happened yesterday!"

Axel froze and stared at her, before saying slowly, "And...what do you think happened yesterday?"

Axille put on a puzzled expression and crossed her arms with a pouty sigh.

"No clue! I can't remember at all!" she announced sadly, "And I don't know why!"

Axel visibly relaxed and said fairly, "Well, if you can't remember, it probably wasn't important. Why don't you go find something to do?"

Axille nodded and ran off to cause mayhem somewhere else, "Yeah, you're right Axey. Bye!"

Axel stared after and sighed, relieved, much to the curiosity of Lexaeus. The Silent Hero had been watching this exchange with a thoughtful expression on his face. He, like Axille, suspected much, much more than what everyone else was saying occurred yesterday.

* * *

Pretty soon, Axille found herself on one of the Hall of Empty Melodies balconies, listening in on a training session with Xiyak and Darxet. She kept herself flattened to the ground

as the two below talked.

"What do you make of all this, Xiyak?" Darxet asked as he ducked one of her iron-clad punches.

"I think we can't trust anyone who was against us yesterday." Xiyak said seriously as she swung another punch, "We need to do something to protect ourselves."

"And what do you propose we do?" Darxet questioned as he raised his hammer and swung it around at her, "We can't exactly fly under the radar in this place."

Xiyak stopped and Darxet had to brake to avoid smashing her head in. A slow smile crept onto her face as she said slowly, "Yeah...we can't fly in this place...too much surveillance."

As she said that, Axille suddenly heard a small robotic sound from behind. Looking around, she saw a security camera that had been studying both her and the Hall.

_Well, she's right about that,_ Axille thought, turning back to the two.

"So...we find another place? ...Wait, why do we need to find a place?" Darxet asked, sitting down.

"Simple," Xiyak said, taking a seat beside him, "we can't trust anyone but ourselves. We could very well be attacked at any time, so we need to be prepared. We need a place to

prepare ourselves, and obviously, we can't use anywhere in this castle. I mean, unless there's a secret collection of unknown rooms somewhere, we're going to have to go under the radar to do what we need to do."

Darxet looked up at the ceiling for a moment before he nodded and said, "Oh yeah...now I follow you. So, got any place in mind?"

Xiyak nodded slowly.

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it'll work." she said.

"And?"

"Have you ever been to the Cave of Wonders in Agrabah?" Xiyak asked.

Darxet nodded, grinning, "Once or twice."Xiyak smiled and stood up, clapping her hands together. "Great then, we're settled. Get Amenxtthe, Syaxsal, and Cavex on board and we'll head out there tomorrow."

Darxet nodded, then stopped. He turned around and for a second, thought he had seen a flash of brown on one of the balconies.

"What the...?"

"Darxet, come on!" Xiyak said impatiently, "We have to get started!"

Darxet turned away and ran out of the room after her, leaving a startled Axille lying on her back on the balcony. She had just barely avoided being seen, and she wasn't ready to move quite yet. Her mind was whirling with everything she had just heard. Was Xiyak really that paranoid that she would need to find a secret place to prepare herself for an attack?

Axille shook her head with a sigh. She just couldn't see why everyone was so freaked out over a bunch of Heartless. There was no conspiracy in that! It was just a freak accident!

Then again...what was up with that big memory gap? Standing up, Axille decided that she would focus completely on remembering whatever it was that had caused that gap. At least she would remember being attacked.

"Wait...Xylle and Xion had that same memory gap too. Maybe they have a better idea!" she exclaimed, getting up and dashing through a portal to the kitchen.

* * *

"Axille, there you are!" Roxas half-shouted when she had tumbled out of the portal. He rushed over and grabbed her, as if scared she would run off again, "Where When I turned around to check on you, you were gone!"

"Hey Roxy!" Axille exclaimed as she was squeezed, "I told you I'd see you later! And then you said 'Uh...yeah, Axille' so I left!"

Roxas sighed and sat her down on a chair, glaring down at her.

"Still, Axille, you should have told me where you were going! And I barely heard you; I thought you were asking me a question! You had me worried!"

Axille sighed and shifted uncomfortably in the chair, "...Sorry, Roxy."

She looked behind him at Xylle and Xion, who were watching with awkward frowns on their faces.

"Oh! You two, I wanted to ask you - Hey!" she exclaimed as Roxas picked her up off the chair and opened a portal.

"In." he ordered, shoving her through. He looked back and waved goodbye to Xylle and Xion before he followed Axille through to their room.

Xylle and Xion waved numbly back before turning to each other.

"What do you suppose she was going to ask?" Xion questioned.

Xylle shrugged, "I don't know. I wonder what Roxas is going to do to her?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Xion giggled, "I overheard Roxas talking to Vexen about her amnesia and nausea this morning. Vexen gave him some medicine or whatever to help

her out, so I bet that's what they're going to go do."

Xylle nodded as the two walked out of the kitchen, "Alright. Want to go do some training?"


	15. One Arabian Night

**And lo and behold, after two years, Organization XXVIII is finally updated! It'll take me a while to get used to this many characters again, but I'll do my best. I had to have all the original OC submissions up just to make sure I didn't totally butcher the characters, too. Oy. Well, on the bright side, I found a way to help me kick my writer's block in the pants (by drawing all the characters, ha ha!)**

**So ah...yeah. I'll have the next one out quick as I can, okay? Stay with me, readers, I know this isn't my best work but I'm going to get back into the groove!**

**Disclaimer from here onwards: The only thing I own here is Axille. KH belongs to Square Enix and the other OCs belong to their original owners (because I lost my original list...pleeeeease if you're out there message me!)**

* * *

With two days left of freedom, Xiyak realized she didn't have much more time to gather her allies. After dinner the previous night, she and Darxet had located and convinced Amenxtthe, Syaxsal, and Cavex to visit the Cave of Wonders with them. Now the five convened in the Dark City, far from the prying eyes of the other Organization members.

"Are you both sure this is a good idea?" Amenxtthe asked them as Xiyak opened a portal, "Won't everyone wonder where we are?"

"That's why we went after everyone went to sleep," Xiyak replied, "At least most of them. We'll go to the Cave of Wonders, get ourselves organized there, and be back here in the morning before anyone knows we're gone."

"And we're only doing this to prepare ourselves in case of a mutiny, correct?" Syaxsal asked.

"Yeah...my question is, why didn't we get the others who were fighting on our side the other day?" Darxet asked, "Marluxia, Larxene, Xaldin?"

"Xaldin's more loyal to Xemnas than he would be to us," Amenxtthe said.

"Larxene was the main ringleader yesterday, too," Xiyak said as they began to walk through the portal, "She would probably get us all erased."

"Marluxia...I'm not sure about him," she continued as the portal took them to Agrabah, "He doesn't seem all that trustworthy. No, it's best to keep to ourselves as neophytes. No matter who fought with or against us yesterday, we can only trust ourselves."

"Alright. I'll admit, I haven't been to this Cave of Wonders before. Would you two lead the way?" Amenxtthe asked as she took Syaxsal's hand, knowing the blind girl might get lost.

"Yes. Come on, it's over this way." Darxet said, heading into the Bazaar.

* * *

Axbrem tossed and turned on her bed, unable to sleep. Groaning, she sat up and looked at her clock, blinking at the numbers. Shaking her head, she tossed her sheets off of herself and got up, pulling a work coat on over her pajamas. She left her bedroom quietly, leaving the door ajar before heading down the hall to Leixym's room.

Upon arriving, she saw that the ocean-wielder's door was unlocked and slightly open, and light snoring could be heard from within. Rolling her eyes, Axbrem walked inside and headed over to her friend's bedside, starting to shake her.

"Ly...Hey, Ly, wake up!"

Ly didn't respond, only turning over and burrowing under the covers a bit. Axbrem sighed and grabbed hold of the covers, jerking them out roughly and causing the younger girl to tumble onto the floor on the other side of the bed.

"Ow!" Leixym exclaimed, her head popping up to glare at Axbrem, "Ax? What the hell was that for! I was having an awesome dream!"

"Dream later. Come on, I feel like something's wrong," Axbrem replied, picking up a work coat and throwing it at her.

Leixym caught it and put it on, going to join the older girl at the door.

"Tell me about it. What isn't wrong about disturbing a girl's rest?" she grumbled.

"I'm being serious."

Axbrem looked out, checking to see the hallway was clear, before contiuing down towards Kyrox's bedroom, "None of this adds up, and did you notice how quiet it is?"

"Uh, that might be because everyone in their right mind is asleep," Leixym replied, putting her hands in her pockets.

"No, I mean...you live right next door to Xiyak, and aren't you always complaining about her being up all night doing handstands or something?" Axbrem asked, arriving at Kyrox's door.

"Well...yeah, but she's probably sleeping. Again, it's kind of the middle of the night."

"Would she really be asleep when she's as strung-up about what happened? I don't know if you noticed, but Xiyak's not exactly the type to let bygones be bygones."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are you doing anyways?"

Axbrem rested her hand on Kyrox's doorknob when it suddenly turned by itself. She stepped back, bumping into Leixym, and the seventeenth member of the Organization poked his head out, looking surprisingly awake despite the hour of night.

"Could you two talk any louder? What are you even doing up at this time?" he asked, though he didn't seem irritated.

"We could ask you the same thing," Axbrem said.

"I'm probably in the same state as you: unable to sleep and thinking," Kyrox said.

"Uh, I'm neither of those things?" Leixym cut in, shotting an accusatory glare at Axbrem, "_I_ was perfectly fine with sleeping!"

"I am curious though, why get us together? Do you have an idea?" Kyrox asked, turning back to Axbrem.

"Not an idea, more so a hunch...It's the whole seige. It's like there's a huge piece of what happened missing. Like...we only saw a small bit of the big picture," Axbrem said, "Xiyak doesn't seem to be around, and that concerns me."

"Like I said, she's probably still asleep. Watch, let's go down to her room and you'll see she's still there and not out gathering forces for a mutiny or whatever it is you think she's up to," Leixym said, turning and heading down the hallway, "And when we prove she's not up to anything, can I _please_ go back to sleep?"

"Fine," Axbrem grumbled, pulling ahead. She led the other two Nobodies up to Xiyak's room and knocked softly, listening for any sounds from inside.

She tried the knob and found it unlocked. Curious, she gently turned it and pushed the door open, looking inside. She paused, tense, and Leixym tapped her on the shoulder.

"Um...Ax? What's up?" she asked.

Axbrem stepped aside.

"Empty," she said, gesturing into the room.

Kyrox and Leixym entered the deserted bedroom and looked around. Kyrox walked up to the bed and patted it, turning with a thoughtful look on his face.

"She hasn't been here all night. The bed's cold as ice, even though it looks like it hasn't been made since she started sleeping here," he reported.

Axbrem looked at Leixym smugly and the shorter girl simply huffed and sighed.

"Alright, fine. You were right and she's not here. What do you think she's doing?" she asked, holding up her hands in surrender.

"It probably has something to do with the riot she stirred up at the battle," Kyrox said, "Axbrem, you apparently had an idea in place when you woke the two of us up. What do we do?"

Axbrem looked at them and turned out of the room, standing in the middle of the hall and surveying the closed doors.

"We get ourselves prepared for an attack from them. First things first...we need to report this to someone higher in rank than us," she said.

"Well, that's a lot for us. I mean, Kyrox already has sixteen people above him, and he's superior to the both of us," Leixym murmured.

"I wasn't finished. It has to be someone we know we can trust and we know who has a lot of influence in the Organization," Axbrem replied.

"The Superior?" Kyrox asked, "He's highest in the chain of command."

"Yes, but how trustworthy is he? He wasn't around for the Heartless siege and from all angles it looked like he was prepared to let us get hurt and incapacitated. Only when he was at risk of losing anyone did he appear," Axbrem said hotly.

"Alright, alright...Well, how about Demyx and Axel to start with? Axel's pretty influential and I'd trust Demyx with my life." Leixym said.

"Now you're talking. Come on, I had a few other ideas, too. They're going to be really mad at us for waking them up, but this can't wait another minute."

Axbrem led her friends down the hall to the staircase that led to the upper levels of the dormitories. They had work to do.

* * *

"Amenxtthe, I appreciate it, really, but I can walk." Syaxsal insisted.

After navigating through the silent streets of Agrabah (and dodging a few of the city guards), the group found themselves at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders. Amenxtthe let go of Syaxsal's arm, having guided her through the city, and Xiyak jumped onto the cat head's tongue, peering down into the gloom.

"Okay, after we get inside, we should find a quiet, empty, out of the way place to start planning. Maybe the underground caves, or I don't know, the one room at the very, very back behind the Treasure Room. It needs to be a place that's hard to get to and well protected," Xiyak said.

"Well the underground caves are pretty accessible...just go running off an edge and you're there," Darxet commented, "So I'd say we should check out the last room first."

"Alright. We'll go there together. Be careful though, there are still Heartless in here and remember: don't touch _anything_."

The Nobodies entered the Cave apprehensively, drawing their weapons. Almost immediately, they were besieged by Heartless. Syaxsal used her spear as a javelin and vaulted over a Clay Armor while Amenxtthe used her own staff to begin stirring up a strong wind. The wind knocked Xiyak backwards and she sent a crackle of electricity at a Soldier, dispatching it.

"Can you not right now, Amen?" Xiyak asked, "That's really hard to work with for the rest of us!"

"This is how I use my element, Xiyak," Amenxtthe replied smoothly. She threw a blast of Fire magic into the wind and, using her control over birds, configured the flames into small sparrows. The sparrows attacked the Heartless as separate units, using the wind to get around faster.

Xiyak was spared from making a sharp retort when Darxet's hammer smacked down right next to her, shaking the ground. Xiyak jumped and Darxet pulled his hammer out of the ground, taking aim at another Heartless. Cavex stood in the background, only moving in to supply her friends with potions when they needed it.

"First order of business when we get out of this mess-" Xiyak growled as she gave a solid punch to a Large Armor, "-battle strategy!"

* * *

Axel met them in the hallway, pulling a coat on over his black and red pajama shirt. Demyx emerged sleepily from the adjacent room to the waiting neophytes in the hall. Axbrem was tapping her foot impatiently while Leixym went to stand with Demyx.

"Okay normally, I'd have fried you if you woke me up at fuckin' three in the morning," Axel began, "but I figured this is a special occasion. You say Xiyak wasn't in her room and hadn't been in there all night?"

"Ohh, what's the problem?" Demyx asked, yawning, "Maybe she fell asleep in the Grey Area. You neophyte girls have a really bad habit of falling asleep in places that aren't your bedrooms."

"That was _one time_ and we were watching a movie!" Axbrem replied, "Anyways, yeah she's not in her room. We checked the others' rooms too. No Darxet, Cavex, Amenxtthe, or Syaxsal. We haven't gone in any of the older Nobodies' rooms yet."

"Mhm...don't." Axel said, looking around at the corridor, "Larxene would kill you, Vexen would kick you out, Saix would berserk...just don't. Any ideas where the missing neophytes are?"

"Not a clue." Kyrox said, "I was thinking about waking Zexion and asking if he could smell them and save us the trouble of searching, but after what you said I don't think he'd want to."

"Ah, that's the thing about Zexion, though. He's so short I could just pick him up before he harmed me." Axel told them deviously, heading up the hall to Zexion's room, "Just hope the bookish twerp didn't...and he did. Locked."

"Wake up Roxas?" Leixym suggested.

"Exactly how many Nobodies do we need to wake up before we have a sizeable search party?" Kyrox asked.

"Kyrox has a point. Come on, it won't kill us to search the castle by ourselves. Demyx, you and-Hey! Dem!" Axel turned and gave the Nocturne a swift smack to the head, as he had been leaning on the wall and dozing.

"Ah! What? What is it?" Demyx asked dizzily, standing up, "I was totally paying attention."

"Sure you were. As I was saying, you and Leixym go search around the basement for the missing neophytes. Kyrox, you're a big boy. Go handle the floors around the Grey Area. Axbrem and I will check the roof," the Flurry instructed.

"What, and I'm not a big girl?" Axbrem asked.

Kyrox nodded and opened a corridor, disappearing to search the Grey Area. Demyx appeared to still be waking up, so Leixym opened the corridor and dragged him through it. Axel ruffled his protege's hair and took her through another portal to the Altar of Naught.

"We'll start up here and work our way down," Axel said, walking to the edge of the platform and looking down.

"They might be in the Dark City, too…" Axbrem said thoughtfully, looking out at the city, "There's a lot of space and a lot of room to hide out in."

"Yeah...you know, where they are isn't what's got me concerned," Axel said. Axbrem looked at him.

"What worries me is what they're doing. I mean, the siege was pretty rough, sure, but is Xiyak really this paranoid?" Axel asked.

"She didn't seem like that when we first met," Axbrem said honestly, "But you know, maybe it isn't so much the paranoia as it is the worry. I think she really trusts you older Nobodies...at least most of you...so the siege kind of shook that in her. You know, I don't think any of us neophytes gave her a reason to worry. Maybe that's why she trusts us so much."

"Well that's great," Axel said sarcastically, "I did absolutely nothing wrong and now I'm hunting for a neophyte who obviously doesn't want to be found."

"Well, you can't exactly blame her."

"'Scuse me?"

"I mean...you were gone most of the day, after scaring off Axille. Then you popped up out of nowhere in the middle of the battle. I didn't think about it much because, well, I was really close to losing my life there, but now that I think about it...it's kind of fishy," Axbrem told him,"Look, I'm just saying you're not exactly guiltless. Where were you all day? If you took a dark portal anywhere, you would have ended up in the Hall of Empty Melodies with the rest of us."

"I got held up elsewhere," Axel said, growing slightly irritated, "Hunting Axille down wasn't exactly easy you know. Kid isn't aces at making dark corridors, so she had to have gone out on foot."

"If you were so angry about how useless she is, why bother looking for her anyways?" Axbrem shot back.

"Because..! You know what, we don't have time for this. Come on, let's keep looking for Xiyak."

Axel opened another portal and Axbrem followed him through it, staring bad-temperedly at the ground.

* * *

Xiyak perched herself on one of the stone podium structures in the Lamp Room, her exhausted group slumped on the ground before her.

"So," Darxet panted, "we should just run all the way here and lock the Heartless out next time?"

"Until we get stronger and more organized, I vote for fleeing," Cavex murmured, checking her stores of Life Code.

"Speaking of getting organized...Amenxtthe, was that gale-force wind really necessary?" Xiyak asked, looking at the blue-haired teen.

"I don't quite see what that has to do with organization, but yes it was. There isn't much wind that passes through this cave and my birds fly faster with a tailwind," Amenxtthe replied coolly.

"Next time, give me a chance to get a few good hits in before you go throwing me off balance?" Xiyak questioned.

"Hey, come on, Amenxtthe was fighting her usual style…" Darxet said, eager to intervene in case of a worse argument.

"It's inconvenient for the rest of us." Xiyak replied, jumping off her perch to stand in front of them, "Which reminds me...Earlier I said the first thing we'd do is battle strategy. Come on, let's get started."

"How do we do that?" Syaxsal asked, "We locked out the Heartless."

"Instead of Heartless, I thought we could fight lesser Nobodies. Dusks, each other's minions. Yeah...Amenxtthe can fight mine, Darxet can fight Syaxsal's, I can fight Cavex's, Cavex can fight Amenxtthe's, and Syaxsal can fight Darxet's." Xiyak said, smiling as she summoned five Dusks and two of her lesser Nobody type, Acrobat.

Amenxtthe shrugged and stood up, summoning five Dusks and two of her bird-like Avians. Cavex followed suit, summoning up her Healers. Syaxsal stood and called out two of her Centurions. Darxet summoned his Artificiers. The Lamp Room was divided into five separate battlefields and the neophytes called last minute encouragement to each other.

"Syaxsal, careful! They're slow but they have really heavy weapons!" Darxet called.

"Cavex, those wings are not just for show."

"They're really agile, Amenxtthe!"

"The Centurions emit very bright light...you'll know when they're about to attack."

"Xiyak, even though they're called Healers they only heal each other. Be careful!"

The lesser Nobody breeds advanced and soon the Lamp Room was alive with battle.


	16. Getting Back to Basics

**A/N: Hey, sorry this took so long! The next few chapters will really advance the plot more, I promise. And thanks for reviewing, those of you who reviewed!**

* * *

The following morning, Xiyak and her group portaled back into the World That Never Was, thoroughly exhausted. To avoid any awkward questions, they had reappeared in their respective rooms. Some of them, like Darxet and Cavex, went straight to sleep, while others went to check up on the other Nobodies in the castle.

"Amenxtthe, there you are," Xaldin said, catching sight of his protégé in the Grey Area. "As you should know, the missions are beginning again tomorrow. I hope you haven't been using your time off wastefully."

Amenxtthe looked up at him and shook her head, Belxeo squawking irritably at the action. "I haven't, Xaldin. I've been training."

Xaldin nodded. "Good. Show me later in the Hall of Empty Melodies."

"Just tell me when to go," she said softly, watching him drift off to a different corner of the room. Because it was still early, there were very few people around. Amenxtthe felt tempted to fall asleep there on the couch, but she pushed herself to her feet and teleported to the dormitory, just outside her room.

Just as she was about to go in, she heard voices coming up the hall. They sounded low and urgent and, curious, she ducked inside her room and cracked the door, pressing herself to the wall. Though the crack was small, it was just wide enough for her to see who was walking up the hall.

Outside, Axbrem, Leixym, and Axel slowed to a stop at the junction between Kyrox and Amenxtthe's room. Leixym leaned on the wall, eyes drooping. Every so often she would yawn loudly and shuffle her position, as if she were trying to fall asleep standing up. Axel had dark circles under his eyes and he rubbed at them with his knuckles, trying to pay attention to what Axbrem was saying.

The Archer was the only one who seemed unaffected by lack of sleep; her eyes glowed with determination and her voice was loud but level as she said, "It's morning already, so they're all probably back at the castle. I think we should talk to each of them alone, but we should be subtle about it. What we want to know is where they were and why."

"Riiiight..." Leixym yawned, "So...here's a thought...since you kept us up all night, why don't we hold off on the investigations until tomorrow? You know, more chances to get them all alone."

"Leixym has a point," Axel said, "we're starting missions tomorrow and if I know Saïx at all, he'll pair everyone up. That gives us all a chance to be paired up with them. You could even go to Saïx and request someone in particular. I don't think he'll care as long as we get the missions done."

"Alright, fine...who pairs with who?" Axbrem asked.

"I'll volunteer to get Xiyak out," Axel said, "How about Leixym asks for Syaxsal, and Axbrem, that gives you Darxet, Amenxtthe, and Cavex to choose from. We can go get Kyrox and Demyx and have them take the two remaining. We can corner him after dinner. Satisfied?"

"Not until we're all back on even ground," Axbrem sniffed. "But I can live with that."

"And I can live with another twenty or so hours of sleep!" Leixym announced, turning and heading off down the hall.

Amenxtthe shrank from the door as the younger girl passed, having heard the entire exchange. She could hear the muffled parting words as Axel returned to his own sleeping quarters and Axbrem lingered in the hall for a few minutes longer, brow furrowed in thought. Eventually, she also turned and headed back to her own room. Amenxtthe waited until she heard the soft click of the door closing and eased herself back into the hall, looking around.

_I should probably warn Xiyak as soon as possible_, the blue-haired girl thought. _Or..._

She teleported again, fading from the hallway without a sound.

~ XXVIII ~

When Amenxtthe returned to the Grey Area, Saïx was not in his usual spot by the window, instead, Xigbar was standing there. He was surveying the activity that had sprung up in the short time Amenxtthe had been away. A small crowd had gathered around one of the couches and she made her way towards it, Belxeo flying along ahead of her.

"Awesome, Axille! Do it again!" Amenxtthe picked out Knexedy's voice and pushed her way into the little group, standing next to Knexedy. Xavier, Roxas, Axille, Zexion, and Cavex were there as well.

Amenxtthe glanced at Cavex for a brief moment, catching the other girl's eye. _'I need to talk to you later,'_ Amenxtthe mouthed. Cavex nodded in understanding and returned her attention to the group.

Axille nodded at Knexedy and glanced up at Amenxtthe, smiling. Amenxtthe took a step back as Axille suddenly shifted form and shot up in height, becoming taller than Roxas. Her hair lengthened and darkened considerably, turning from light brown to deep blue. Her eyes changed shape and became silver, and a black blob rose off her coat and became a Belxeo clone. The real Belxeo squawked in alarm and flew in front of the clone, flapping his wings angrily. The clone squawked in reply and puffed up its feathers, hissing.

"And that isn't all I can do," Axille-Amenxtthe said. She held out her hand and Amenxtthe's staff materialized.

"See, Amen? She's a perfect copy! Here, Axille stand up!" Knexedy exclaimed.

Axille stood and her Belxeo clone alighted on her shoulder. Amenxtthe summoned her weapon and held it out for comparison, trying to get over the shock of comparing weapons with her exact double. The staves were identical, right down to the occasional scuff mark from battle. Axille lifted her staff and cast Fire, the burst of flame turning into a sparrow. The illusion remained for a moment, then disappeared into a soft puff of smoke.

"Number XV's mimicry abilities have improved dramatically," Zexion mused. The Schemer had been watching the whole event quietly, standing off to the side. "When she first joined, she could barely hold a form for long _and_ the forms were half-accurate, at best. Now she's done a perfect copy."

"Aw, Zexion, is that a compliment?" Axille teased, changing back to normal.

"Hardly. It was a perfect copy; even the scent changed," Zexion replied stiffly. "It's a very useful skill."

"But Zexion isn't your element illusions, too?" Xavier asked, hopping over the couch and sitting next to Roxas.

"It is, but her mimicry and my illusions are two very different things," Zexion said. "For example, her mimicry only affects her own person, whereas mine can be projected over a large space and can change many if not all of the area's attributes."

"Sooo...does that make yours better or hers better?"

"Considering vanity is something I am incapable of feeling, I will assume you meant that in a productive sense. It depends on what our respective abilities are being used for."

The subject of the matter, Axille, tried to pay attention to the Schemer but found the conversations to be taking a downward turn towards boring. She hopped off the couch and looked around, seeing Amenxtthe starting to leave. She followed the older girl to the doorway and Amenxtthe turned around, looking down at her quizzically.

"Hey Amen, where're you going?" Axille asked, "Can I come too?"

"Wouldn't Roxas wonder where you are?" Amenxtthe asked.

Axille shook her head. "Noooo...he's going to hang out with Xion and Axel later. He told me to make sure I've got somethin' to keep me busy."

"Well then, I'm supposed to meet Xaldin in the Hall of Empty Melodies soon to train. If you stay off to the side, I don't think he would mind letting you watch."

Axille nodded excitedly and tagged along at Amenxtthe's heels as the older girl led her away from the Grey Area. "Okay! That sounds like fun!"

~ XXVIII ~

In a different part of the castle, Kyrox, Anix, and Xylle were preparing dinner for that night under Vexen's begrudging supervision. Xylle was, as usual, quiet and reserved but the two close friends Anix and Kyrox were contentedly chatting as they put the meal together.

"Back to work tomorrow," Anix said conversationally as he helped Kyrox measure out the ingredients to a meatloaf. "You know, we actually haven't done much work lately...Even before the siege, we had only gone on maybe one or two missions."

"That's because our first mission nearly killed you," Kyrox replied.

"Right...well, at least I've got earplugs now," Anix said fairly.

"I spoke with Saïx earlier; he said our next mission will be recon in a relatively safe world. It's a bit tame for my tastes, but I don't think he'll be sending us out to destroy giant Heartless immediately after so much time off," Kyrox speculated.

"Yes, all this time off has rather spoiled you neophytes," Vexen huffed. "Frankly, I believe the Superior is being too gentle with you all."

Xylle shoved past the scientist roughly, causing him to stumble into the counter. Xylle smiled a little and set a tray down next to Kyrox and Anix, not even trying to feign innocence.

"Xion and I will be searching for some items for synthesis on our first mission back," Xylle said. "I'm actually looking forward to it because we haven't gone on a mission together since our first one."

"Really? Huh...well, good for you," Anix said.

"I'm actually surprised," Xylle admitted, "I didn't think he'd be so ready to send the two of us out together."

"Why wouldn't he?" Kyrox asked.

"Well, it's because we both passed out during the siege. Axille did too, but I heard she's going out with Xigbar and Roxas tomorrow," Xylle said. "I guess I'm micro-managing a little, but he didn't even have us looked at to make sure we didn't suffer long-term."

"Do you _think_ you suffered long term?" Kyrox asked.

"_I_ feel fine, but I'm concerned about Xion and Axille," Xylle replied.

"That would be very sweet if you had an actual _heart_ to be concerned with," Vexen said. "Instead of being pseudo-emotional over things out of your control, why don't you hurry up with making sure the rest of us don't starve tonight?"

"Now who's being pseudo-emotional over things out of his control, Vexen?" Xylle huffed, turning back to the cooking.

"You will remember what rank you hold in this Order, Number XXVI," Vexen growled warningly.

"Xylle, come on, don't rile him up," Anix said softly. "We're almost done here."

Xylle remained in a glaring contest with the Academic before turning away irritably, helping Anix measure out the last of the ingredients. Everyone fell silent for a while as Kyrox set the meatloaf in the oven and they started to clean up the kitchen.

Eventually, Anix spoke up again, but his words were directed to no one in particular and his voice was soft and thoughtful:

"You know...sometimes I wonder how much we can depend on each other. If we're so quick to argue and bother each other, how are we ever going to hold up in case of another major threat? Lately I've been feeling like the siege just further broke apart an already unstable organization. I don't think we'd survive another catastrophe like that."

~ XXVIII ~

"Alright, that's enough for today," Xaldin said. He and Amenxtthe broke apart, disentangling their weapons from each other. Amenxtthe was sweating, her muscles screaming in protest. She dismissed her staff and backed away from the third member, trying to regulate her breathing. They had been training for close to three hours, and Amenxtthe swayed unsteadily on her feet, shifting her weight around to try and regain balance.

"Obviously we're going to need to devote more time to training, if you're this weakened after a session," Xaldin observed. He seemed unaffected by the strenuous activity and he opened a dark corridor, looking back at his protégé.

"Clean yourself up before dinner," he barked. "And while you're at it, deposit number XV in her room."

He nodded over to Axille, who had curled up on the sidelines and fallen asleep. The little mimic was snoring gently and Amenxtthe nodded.

"I'll take her. Cavex, would you help?" she asked.

Cavex had been sitting next to Axille, gently rubbing the little girl's back as she slept. Cavex looked up when her name was called and nodded at Amenxtthe, ducking her head politely to Xaldin as he departed.

"Getting her home? Yes, I'll help," Cavex said. She gathered Axille up in her arms and went to join Amenxtthe, looking around.

"Cavex, do you know who you're going to go on a mission with tomorrow?" Amenxtthe asked, her voice carefully neutral. Cavex sensed something off and looked up at her, quirking her brow quizzically. Amenxtthe jerked her head to the side a bit and opened a dark corridor, looking down at the shorter girl.

"No I don't...why?" Cavex asked as they headed through the portal.

In the space between the dark corridors, Amenxtthe stopped. The doorway behind them closed and she looked around, sighing.

"No cameras here...I overheard earlier that Axbrem, Axel, and Leixym noticed we were missing from the castle last night," she said seriously. "I haven't told Xiyak yet, but Axel and the others came up with a plan to interrogate us all on the missions tomorrow, and they were going to ask Saïx to pair them off with us after dinner."

"Oh no," Cavex said softly. "What do we do?"

"First, let's drop her off," Amenxtthe glanced at the bundle in Leixym's arms, "then we should go find Saïx. If the two of us go on a mission together, then none of them can corner us."

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. When do we tell Xiyak, Darxet, and Syaxsal?" Cavex asked as they resumed walking.

"Xiyak will probably get the idea very quickly," Amenxtthe admitted. "She's very sharp and highly guarded. Darxet might be a bit more of a problem, but we can probably warm him before he leaves tomorrow. Syaxsal...Honestly, I don't think Saïx will send her with anyone other than Lexaeus. Only _he_ really knows how to carry out missions with her."

The end of the corridor finally came up and they stepped out outside of Roxas' room. Amenxtthe knocked and the door open; evidently, the thirteenth member wasn't home.

"He was out doing something with Xion and Axel, right?" Amenxtthe said softly, recalling what Axille had told her earlier.

"Numbers XVI and XXVII, what are you doing up here?"

A cold voice from behind startled them and they turned around. Axille shifted a little in Cavex's arms, disturbed by the movement, but settled down again. Saïx was standing behind the girls, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh! Good evening, Saïx," Amenxtthe said. Cavex looked down and avoided eye contact, oddly quiet.

"I'll ask again, why are you here?" Saïx repeated.

"Axille fell asleep in the Hall of Empty Melodies," Amenxtthe explained. "We were just taking her back to her room. But, actually, we were going to go look for you after we were done. We had a question about our missions tomorrow?"

"Yes, what is it?" Saïx asked.

"Can...can we do our mission together?" Cavex asked quietly. "We work really well together and we might be able to get it done faster, and we could definitely do a better job working together."

Saïx looked at them for a long while and then turned away.

"The missions for tomorrow will be discussed at dinner. I have to speak with the Superior beforehand, but I will put your request in with him," he said.

"Alright, thank you Saïx," Amenxtthe sighed.

He departed and the two girls turned around, walking into Roxas' room. A quick glance told them which side was Axille's; the mimic was surprisingly messier than her roommate, and she had a disturbing collection of theater masks scattered over her side of the floor. Cavex went and set her down on the bed and Axille rolled over, still snoring away.

"She's such a heavy sleeper," Cavex sighed. "It's a wonder how Roxas can get her up in the mornings. Amen, do you think we'll get to work together tomorrow?"

Amenxtthe shrugged. "I'd like to think we will, but we can't be sure until dinner. It should be starting soon anyways. Come on, let's go and try to find Darxet."

Cavex nodded and the two girls left together, leaving the door cracked slightly behind them. In the relative darkness of the bedroom, Axille stirred on her bed and sat up, honey-colored eyes clear of any remnants of sleep. She blinked and thought about the entire conversation she had heard, from the moment Cavex picked her up, awakening her, to the moment Cavex and Amenxtthe left.

"Missing from the castle, huh..." Axille wondered aloud. "Well, what were they missing _for_?"

Suddenly, she got an idea. Eyes lighting up, Axille hopped out of bed and hurried out of the bedroom, heading in the opposite direction of the dining room.

~ XXVIII ~

"It would seem everyone is here," Saïx said. The dining table was full, except for the one absent spot that belonged to Axille. Roxas looked over at the spot next to him and shook his head.

"Not everyone! Has anyone seen Axille?" he asked.

Amenxtthe spoke up, "She's in your room, Roxas. Cavex and I dropped her off there after she fell asleep in the Hall of Empty Melodies."

"Lucky her," Demyx said mournfully.

"You've had three days to do nothing but sleep," Xigbar pointed out. "If that's not enough shut-eye I don't know what to tell ya, kiddo."

"_As I was saying_," Saïx said, preventing anymore conversation from starting, "I have all of your mission assignments for tomorrow. The reason I am announcing them now is to avoid any chaos getting organized tomorrow morning. Numbers II, XIII, and XV will gather information in the Land of Dragons. Numbers III and XIX have been assigned to train at the Beast's Castle. Numbers VI and XVIII, you are to return to Neverland and track a giant Heartless that has been lurking there..."

As the Luna Diviner continued on, Amenxtthe found herself glancing down the table at Cavex every few minutes. The twenty-seventh member had her gaze trained on Saïx, listening intently. Across the table from her, Darxet appeared to be wringing the tablecloth nervously. When Amenxtthe and Cavex had cornered the male earlier and warned him, he seemed to panic a little.

"Numbers XVI and XXVII will be dispatched to Halloweentown to locate a large Heartless. Numbers VIII and XXII have been assigned to Port Royal. And finally, Numbers XXIII and XXVIII will go to Agrabah," Saïx finished. Amenxtthe saw Darxet pale and Axbrem shot him a glance, noticing. There was a collective sigh of relief as Saïx sat down and everyone began to eat.

Belxeo pecked at a roll Amenxtthe set down and she sighed, looking across the table at Cavex. The purple-haired girl was looking around curiously, her fork poised over the lump of meatloaf she had put on her plate. As Amenxtthe watched, Cavex focused on Axbrem. Belxeo chirped at Amenxtthe, startling her out of her thoughts, and she looked down at him and stroked his head plumage with a sigh. Belxeo crooned softly and flew up to sit on her shoulder.

"You know, I'm actually really glad we're going back to work tomorrow," Knexedy was saying to Leixym. Amenxtthe turned her attention to the conversation, listening idly.

"Really?" Leixym yawned. "I'm with Demyx on this one, I think I could go with another three days of sleep."

"_How_?" Xavier asked, staring at the ponytailed girl. "I'm practically going out of my mind with nothing to do but sit around!"

Amenxtthe sighed again and sat back in her chair, petting Belxeo idly. The conversations thinned out to mere background buzz as she contemplated the missions of tomorrow.


End file.
